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Officials in Palm Springs, California are investigating a car explosion on Saturday morning that killed one person and damaged a fertility clinic.<\/p>\n
The explosion happened just before 11:00 local time (19:00 BST) less than a mile from downtown Palm Springs, near several businesses including the American Reproductive Centres.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the fertility clinic said no one from their facility was harmed but that one person was killed and several were injured.<\/p>\n
Palm Springs police confirmed the death and called the incident an “intentional act of violence”, but have not released further details.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
California governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the state is coordinating with local and federal authorities to respond to the incident.<\/p>\n
The American Reproductive Centres in Palm Springs said that the vehicle explosion occurred in the parking lot near its building.<\/p>\n
It is unclear what the cause of the explosion was. <\/p>\n
Lieutenant Mike Villegas with the Palm Springs police told reporters on Saturday afternoon that the incident appears “intentional”, but said it remains an active investigation.<\/p>\n
US attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said in a post on X that the Justice Department was “aware of the explosion that occurred this morning in Palm Springs”.<\/p>\n
He added the FBI are also on the scene and investigating if “this was an intentional act”.<\/p>\n
The fertility clinic said their lab, including all eggs and embryos, remain “fully secure and undamaged”.<\/p>\n
“We are heavily conducting a complete safety inspection and have confirmed that our operations and sensitive medical areas were not impacted by the blast,” the fertility clinic said in its statement.<\/p>\n
However, Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the clinic, told The Associated Press that the clinic’s office was damaged. <\/p>\n
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”<\/p>\n
According to its website, the American Reproductive Centers clinic is the first full-service fertility center and in vitro fertilisation lab (IVF) in the Coachella Valley.<\/p>\n
It offers services like fertility evaluations, IVF, egg donation and freezing, reproductive support for same-sex couples and surrogacy. <\/p>\n
The BBC has reached out to Palm Springs police for further comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n