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Officials Hold News Conference On Explosion In Palm Springs, California; Mexican Navy Training Ship Moving In Wrong Direction When It Hit Brooklyn Bridge. Aired 1:09-2p ET
Aired May 18, 2025 - 13:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:09:29]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking news.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. We interrupt Fareed Zakaria. I'm Fredricka Whitfield with this breaking news. Right now, officials in Palm Springs, California are about to begin a press conference as it pertains to that deadly explosion outside a fertility clinic yesterday, which the FBI is calling an intentional act of terrorism.
We understand that there'll be local authorities there representing that jurisdiction of Palm Springs, the Los Angeles field office, representation of the FBI.
[13:10:05]
Let's listen in right now.
CHIEF ANDREW MILLS, PALM SPRINGS POLICE: Got to admit, it's kind of weird standing on this thing. Well, first of all, welcome to Palm Springs Police Department. We appreciate you taking the time to come and to learn about all the great things that the Bureau and our department has been doing. I'll introduce Assistant Director Akil Davis II.
I did want to take a few seconds to recognize the many people who have given us an outpouring of support from the Governor's office. We have over here Donald Keith and Director of OES. Thank you so much for taking the time to fly down today.
We have Congressman Raul -- Dr. Raul Ruiz here also. We appreciate you coming, Dr. Ruiz, and your support. You've been on the phone with me for two days, and I sincerely appreciate that. In addition to that, we have Supervisor Emmanuel Perez, who is coming.
And also, as you can see, all of our council members are here. This is Grace Garner. Councilwoman Grace Garner, Jeffrey Bernstein. And I saw David Reddy. Oh, there he is. David Reddy, Mayor Pro Tem Soto. And then City Manager Scott Stiles, and Paul Alvarado, the Fire Chief.
I want to turn this over. The most important piece of this is the great work that our partners from the FBI have been doing with our detectives. And I'm just so grateful, Akil, for your partnership. We've worked shoulder to shoulder on this, and I really appreciate all you've done. So time is yours as much as a lot.
AKIL DAVIS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FBI'S LOS ANGELES FIELD OFFICE: Thank you so much, Chief. Good morning. As Chief Mills said, my name is Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.
I'd like to begin by thanking the public as well as members of the media for your patience as we continue through this lengthy investigation. I'd like to start off by saying due to the speed and professionalism of the Palm Springs Fire Department, Station 1, the Palm Springs Police Department, as well as the FBI bomb technicians, were able to save all of the embryos at this facility.
Good guys 1, bad guys 0. They understood the sensitivity and the precious nature of what was inside, and they took extreme care to ensure that there was no loss of any sensitive material.
Again, I want to thank all the partners that have arrived here in Palm Springs to help us investigate this scene and ensure this continued safety in this community.
I'd like to address the ongoing search in Twentynine Palms that many of you asked me about yesterday. I can confirm that were executing a search warrant at that location in Twentynine Palms as a result of this explosion here.
As has been reported some residents were evacuated in the neighboring area as a practice of protocol and safety. We do not believe that there's an ongoing threat to the public in the Twentynine Palms area as a result of this investigation.
As I mentioned yesterday our efforts to positively identify the deceased individual here has been found. We are fairly confident that subject is Guy Edward Bartkus, 25-year-old from again Palm Springs, I'm sorry, from again Twentynine Palms.
This is the same individual that I mentioned yesterday. However, due to our investigation were keeping some of that information close hold. We were now releasing it to you today.
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force indicates that we believe he was the subject found near the vehicle. Also want to provide the vehicle information to you. He was driving a to 2010 silver Ford Fusion sedan with license plate number 8H as in Henry, W's in William, S as in Sam, 848.
Again, that is license plate number 8 is in Henry. I'm sorry, 8, H is in Henry, W is in William, S as in Sam, 848. That's critical because we need the public's help in identifying gaps in our investigation. We know where Mr. Bartkus was at about 6am we know the timeline of when he entered the city.
However, we need the public's help for identifying where he traversed within the city before the explosion went off. We will be providing a photograph of Mr. Bartkus and it will also be displayed on our social platforms. If anyone has information about this incident I urge them to call 1-800-call FBI or we have created a tip line which is FBI.gov/palmspringsvehicleexplosion.
I again want to thank you for your cooperation as we get through this lengthy investigation we can we plan on being out here for the next 24 to 36 hours investigating this large scene.
[13:15:04]
I'd now like to turn it over to Chief Mills.
MILLS: It goes without saying at the end of this, we'll have opportunity for people to ask questions. Yesterday, a man intent on harming others in our city failed. Palm Springs survived, and we are stronger and more resilient as a result.
Our determination to continue life as we know it here in Palm Springs continues unabated, and you'll see this city dynamically grow as a result of this. We have already begun to open the streets surrounding the blast site. Indian Canyon and Palm Canyon will be closed for some time as we still continue to collect evidence as well as process the scene. For the safety of the detectives and the agents work in the area, we ask all community members to please stay out of the area.
I am absolutely confident that this city is safe. There is no continuing threat to our community as a result of this incident. Now, let's get back to the business of rebuilding the city and continuing our tradition and way of life. This is a city of people celebrating life, and it's a beacon and a safe haven for all. And we really focus on inclusivity and a community that is welcoming to all people.
This is where you want to be. Palm Springs is the place, and I think you're going to see that over the upcoming months.
Lastly, I really want to recognize the IVF community. This has been one of those heartbreaking things for many community members who are going through the process of trying to build families. And we want you to know that this city is in your heart, because those embryos that are there right now are going to be the future leaders of this community. And so we support you, we see you, and we want to be in your camp.
And so, please, as we continue to move forward, this is an opportunity for us to show the IVF community just how much we support them. And we can do.
I'm asking all people in Palm Springs, people who live here, people who treasure this as a home, get on social media and show how wonderful this city is. Take a photo of your -- of the best place that you would like to show the world what's going on and post it, because that's how special this community is. I'd like to turn over to Fire Chief Paul Alvarado.
FIRE CHIEF PAUL ALVARADO, PALM SPRINGS FIRE DEPARTMENT: Thank you, Chief. I appreciate that. Paul Alvarado, A-L-V-A-R-A-D-O, Palm Springs Fire Chief. And at first, I want to acknowledge the horrific incident that impacted our community yesterday. And my heart goes out to everyone affected. And I want to assure the community the effective and quick response that our firefighters took yesterday to make sure that we protected life and property. Our first arriving fire engine, Fire Station 1 arrived in less than a minute to begin extinguishing fire on the impacted building.
Despite the building suffering structural collapse, this was nothing short of heroic and I'm so proud of our firefighters. We'll continue to work in support with our law enforcement partners to make sure that the community gets rebuilt. Our community is safe and we continue to move forward. Thank you for your time. I'd like to invite Mayor Pro Tem Naomi Soto up to the mic. Thank you.
MAYOR PRO-TEM NAOMI SOTO, PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA: Good afternoon. Or good morning. Feels like afternoon already. My name is Naomi Soto. I'm the mayor of Pro Tem here in the city. Yesterday, Palm Springs experienced a tragedy. A person who want to instill fear in our community with an act of terrorism. This person may have caused damage to our buildings, but that person only managed to unite our community even more.
We stand united against violence, against hate. Palm Springs is a city of love, acceptance, joy and hope. I want to assure this community they are in good hands with Police Chief Andy Mills and Fire Chief Paul Alvarado and the brave men and women who responded immediately to the scene of the explosion. And to our partners at the FBI who are doing everything they can do to find those responsible. We are in deep gratitude to you all.
We also appreciate all our state and local partners who have reached out to offer support and resources, including especially Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Adam Schiff, Congressman Ken Calvert, Congressman Raul Reese. Thank you for being here. State Senator Ochoa Bo and Assemblyman Greg Wallace and all of their staff who have reached out to us multiple times.
[13:20:09]
Thank you to our city council members, our city staff, City Manager Scott Stiles. All of your effort means so much during this time of tragedy and to our community members, again, I want to show you that we are doing everything we can to help those injured and find those responsible. You are not alone. We are here with you.
To our business, community and visitors, as Police Chief Mills mentioned, this is an isolated incident. Palm Springs is safe and we are open for business. And let's bring the joy and fun of Palm Springs immediately back.
Our City Manager Scott Stiles will now share more about the actions and alerts that you can anticipate from the city. Thank you.
SCOTT STILES, PALM SPRINGS CITY MANAGER: Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. I'll be very brief, but just a few words, especially for our residents here in Palm Springs. We want to let you know that all of our city departments are working around the clock 24/7 to be fully coordinated on everything we can do from opening up streets as quickly as possible and to providing services and restoring services as quickly as possible.
That involves all the coordination with our police department, our fire department, public works, who are all out there around the clock. And we will continue to do that. We hope to be opening streets up very soon, as soon as possible and we'll continue to push that out.
I do want to mention, especially for our residents, we've created a special landing page on our Engage Palm Springs platform. And that's where people can get all the latest up to date information that we're going to be putting out. Please go to that Engage Palm Springs website. Many, many of our residents are already watching it around the clock.
The other thing I want to mention very briefly, with the horrific nature of this explosion, as you know, it damaged a great number of businesses and residential properties in and around the vicinity. We had our business teams out there yesterday going door to a lot of those businesses, a lot of those residential properties.
And we're going to be moving forward as expeditiously as we can to doing everything we can to help them recover, whether it's waiving permits to get them up to speed, providing any resources, loans, grants, anything that might be available to people.
We're going to be working on that with the greatest of speed. So we'll be continuing to reach out to them. And so we just want to thank all of our businesses, residents that were affected. And if you need to reach out to us, please reach out to us, if you haven't talked, spoken to us already.
So with that, I'll turn it back over to the assistant director for any comments, questions.
DAVIS: OK. OK. We'll open it up for a few questions. Chief, did you want to --
STILES: Mark, did you have a question to start off with?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would ask Scott and anybody else in the city. A lot of people were impacted by this mentally. People who came upon the scene and saw horrific things. Did the city necessarily make any resources available to help people or guide people as they try to emotionally recover from this incident?
STILES: Thank you, Mark. We've had some conversation about that. We know, especially even among our city staff that were on scene and may have witnessed stuff and seen stuff, we want to make sure that resources are available to them as well as other staff.
And we will be working with our nonprofit partners, other people that provide services. And I would say more to come on that. We know this is a traumatic incident. We want to provide any and every resource that's available to people. UNDIENTIFIED FEMALE: Chief Mills. Is there anything you can tell us
about the suspect in the state of mind? There was something posted about this online rampant (inaudible).
MILLS: Yes. I want to be very careful how we respond, so I'd like to keep it under one roof. And I'll have Assistant Director Davis respond to that.
DAVIS: Thanks, Chief. So, yes, the subject had nihilistic ideations, and this was a targeted attack against the IDF facility. Make no mistake, we are treating this, as I said yesterday, as an intentional act of terrorism.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the audio recording on the Pro-mortalist website, is that confirmed to be the suspect?
DAVIS: I'm not going to answer that at the time. Investigations ongoing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, are you aware of a possible manifesto? Is that part of the investigation --
DAVIS: I am.
[13:25:02]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- planned attack for next week.
DAVIS: We are looking through that. We are tracking a possible manifesto out there and it's part of our ongoing investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And would this explosion ne livestreamed?
DAVIS: We believe he was attempting to live stream it. And yes, that is also part of our investigation. Sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NBC Palm Spring. Yesterday afternoon we contacted by an individual who was at the corner of the Shiva, and Canyon at the time of the explosion of the red light over. He got out of his car to see if there were victims. He didn't anything. But he did find evidence which he took home with him.
That evidence he showed me appears to be part of an explosive device, perhaps an accelerant or an exciter for something wrong. I told him to contact you folks. I'm wondering, have you heard from him? Did you get that device that you showed me? And secondly, how concerned are you that device could in fact be part of this investigation?
DAVIS: So I'm not going to comment on who's providing evidence or who's providing tips. You guys can all understand that we're receiving tips, hundreds of tips a day and we're following up on all of them. As you guys can imagine how large this scene is there's evidence strewn all about in a 360 degree perimeter in several hundred feet in every direction. So we are collecting evidence all over from a whole host of sources. MILLS: If I can just comment on that. For those committee members who
have found pieces of what they believe is evidence, they really need to get a hold of us. You can call the local number or the FBI. This is unacceptable. And let's be really direct with that. If that person, if you could recontect them for us and let them know they need to turn it in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe he's been contacting you. I'm looking online this morning. The device is described as one, is commonly used as explosives.
DAVIS: OK, well, I mean make no mistake sir, this absolutely were explosives used in this incident. A large bomb went off in the city of Palm Springs yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was part of that evidence?
DAVIS: Could be. Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you talk about this 25-year-old, was he already known to law enforcement or was this the first time that he's popped up on your radar?
DAVIS: This is the first time he's popped up on our radar. Not to say that he hasn't had other contacts, but we are working with our locals to kind of vet that out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And do you have an update on those four people, on their injuries or what's the status of them?
DAVIS: Yeah, go ahead, chief.
MILLS: All of the people who were injured in the blast have been released from the hospital and medical care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you speak to the scene in Twentynine Palms, what actually some residents reported hearing an explosion there, possibly was there a controlled explosion or anything there and have the perimeters (inaudible).
DAVIS: So it's an ongoing -- it's an ongoing scene. I am aware of some of the noise that the residents were reporting on that. Some of that was due to us making entry into that residence and dealing with some of the material that we've come across there. But that's an active scene right now and we're working through that. So I'm not going to comment further on the status of it. Sir.
ZACH POETO (ph), KATE VALLEY NEWS: ALE: Mr. Davis, Zach Poeto (ph) here with Kate Valley News. Thank you for taking the time to be here in Palm Springs. To clarify, you said the person who died in this explosion is Mr. Bartkus. Is Mr. Bartkus who you believe made this bomb and detonated it?
DAVIS: Yes. So that's nuance there. So we are fairly confident that Mr. Bartkus is our primary subject of -- primary suspect, a person of interest. We are working through some other technical means to positively identify the decedent here. But we believe at this moment, based on the evidence that we've gathered, that is Mr. Bartkus as the decedent here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is Mr. Bartkus mother (INAUDIBLE)?
DAVIS: I'm not going to -- no comment there. Sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This (INAUDIBLE) of CBS News. Is Ford Fusion 3,000 pounds is essentially creates this 250 yard blast site. Talk about the device that was inside this vehicle, rudimentary, sophisticated. And walk us through it.
DAVIS: And so there's a lot there that's still under investigation. What I can say is this is probably the largest bombing scene that we've had in Southern California. This does eclipse the bombing matter in Aliso Viejo. It's that big. And just for reference, to throw pieces of vehicle hundreds of feet in the air and then several blocks away, you can use your imagine, imagine how big that's that bomb device.
UNDIENTIFIED MALE: Was this individual able to buy the products online? Was he -- did he have to use a special license, military grade, how he obtained the materials for the device?
DAVIS: And so that information is still part of our investigation in order to protect the integrity of it. I'm not going to comment on the how and the why yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question to you is since you said (INAUDIBLE) explosive that was used in that vehicle, could it be that the suspect was outside of the vehicle, maybe didn't expect it to detonate. as much as it did? Did he not have intentionally tried to kill himself?
[13:30:09]
DAVUS: Yes, ma' am, that is a possibility. And our investigation will reveal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some other questions?
DAVIS: Sir?
TIMOTHY PARKER, SPECTRUM NEWS 1: Timothy Parker, Spectrum News 1. You mentioned that you believe this person was anti-IVF. How do you know that?
DAVIS: Based on our investigation, some of the posts that he's made online, some of the comments made in his manifesto that we're combing through right now is kind of what led us to that, that nihilist bullying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi (INAUDIBLE) News Channel 3. We had a reporter on scene at the Twentynine Palms area yesterday and community members were telling her that there was an FBI presence there in the days leading up to that. Can you confirm that? DAVIS: I cannot.
MILLS: OK, folks, that concludes this press conference. We're done, folks.
DAVIS: OK, guys, thanks a lot.
MILLS: Thank you very much for coming here.
DAVIS: Appreciate it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we know if he was on the FBI's watch list yet at all whatsoever or just random?
WHITFIELD: All right, a lot of fascinating details there and still a lot of gaps as a result of that explosion that took place outside a fertility clinic there in Southern California in Palm Springs, California there yesterday. You heard from the FBI special agent in charge who said it is the largest bomb explosion that has happened in Southern California history that he is aware of.
Let's talk further about some of the details that we got, some of the questions that remain. We've got Josh Campbell with us and Senior National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem. Good to see you both.
So, Josh, you first. A lot being revealed as it pertains to the suspect, or as the FBI Special Agent in charge said, still a person of interest. They've nailed down the identity of who they believe the deceased person is. They've got all kinds of apparatus now at Twentynne Palms, which is just about 50 miles northeast of Palm Springs where he's believed to have lived. What more did you hear there?
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so we now have the identity of the person that they believe was responsible here. We had previously reported that the suspect was believed to be a 25-year old male from Twentynine Palms. We hadn't provided the name yet. And I'll tell you why. That's because in talking to law enforcement sources, they described as the head FBI agent there in Los Angeles just did as well that identification is what they're describing as preliminary.
And what that means is that there's additional testing that has to be done. I won't get too graphic, but I'm told from a law enforcement source that because of what that blast did to the individual, a photo ID wasn't enough, so they're going to have to do some additional testing just to make sure.
But they believe it is highly likely that the sole person who died there, the 25-year-old, was also responsible for this incident.
Now, it's interesting to note that although we're looking at the crime scene there, where it happen -- there's a lot of work that's going on behind the scenes. We just heard the FBI appeal to the public that if you know this individual, if you saw this vehicle in and around the Palm Springs area, we need your help filling in these gaps. And that is because when you have an incident that occurs, authorities then work backwards to try to identify every single movement of this individual.
There's no indication that he had left other devices, you know, in other places. But that is something that they want to rule out. They want to have a full picture about where he was, where he went as he led up to that location.
He also -- the FBI mentioning that he wasn't previously on the FBI's radar in certain situations like this. We have seen the case where someone was under investigation. Perhaps there were complaints that were filed with law enforcement about someone from a concerned member of the public. Again, the FBI saying that the feds didn't know about him, but they're working to see whether local law enforcement did actually have any kind of previous holdings on him.
And then the last thing I'll mention is this suspected manifestation. Now, what we had previously reported based on law enforcement sources is that the authorities were aware of a rambling audio recording that was posted online from someone who essentially said, I am going to target a IVF clinic.
It's very rumbly in this audio, you know, which I've listened to, he basically says that he is anti IVF, he is anti-life. I'm not a mental health expert, but talking with law enforcement sources, they believe that mental health issues may have played a role here, which is something that they will certainly be looking into.
So again, we got a lot of new information right there, but there's still a lot of work ahead for investigators before this case is brought to finality.
WHITFIELD: OK, Josh, thank you so much. I want to bring in Stephanie Elam into the picture too. She was there at that press conference. And Stephanie, sometimes, of course, what is revealed is very fascinating, but what is not revealed even that much more perplexing does it appear as though that the FBI has a little bit more about the suspect or even details of this investigation that they're letting on at this time.
[13:35:10]
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, it's definitely clear that they do have more leads, but they did not tell the -- tell us all of them at this point. One of the questions that I did ask was whether or not the FBI was aware of this 25-year-old man before this incident yesterday morning and they said that they were not. They do are also looking into whether or not he was outside of the vehicle when it detonated, when this bomb detonated, or whether or not he was inside.
They're still trying to piece that all together along with this search warrant that they did -- they took care of yesterday afternoon in Twentynine Palms. But they are fairly certain that this is the person of interest here.
What's also noteworthy is that they gave out the license plate number of this car because they're saying they really do need the public's help in identifying where this man may have gone. They know where he was at 6 o' clock in the morning, they said, but they're not sure of the movements that he made after that point.
And think about it, that 6:00 a.m. that's many hours until this bomb was detonated around 11:00 am. They also said that the area that has been encompassed in this bomb area is still quite large. And so they're still processing it. Some of the streets are still closed off. They're working around the clock, they said to open those streets back up and they're working with people.
There are some residential homes there as well that are still impacted and some businesses that they are working with to make the scene clear right now. But it's still not as they're still working the scene trying to get all of the information they can about how this played out yesterday, what were the motives, but also hearing that the fire department was on scene within a minute of that bombing happening yesterday.
And we saw that one building that's collapsing in the middle there. As far as those embryos from IVF, they said they were able to save all of them even though the building itself collapsed, Fred.
WHITFIELD: That too is very fascinating. All right, Juliette Kayyem, national security analyst, want to bring you into the fold to Josh said something that was very interesting about, you know, how investigators will be working backward, that they have to figure out a lot about this suspect, this person of interest.
At the same time, when you hear the special agent in charge of the FBI saying this is the largest explosion bomb, you know, in Southern California. They also now have to work backwards about trying to figure out the components of this type of bomb, where these materials could have been retrieved, explain how that will happen and why that's important in this equation.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes. So this investigation will begin to look sort of familiar in terms of understanding the means. Right. How do you get access to that kind of explosive material? Were there purchases made that should have triggered someone or a seller to notify, as well as why did he choose this IVF facility?
So you're exactly right. We sort of know the end. It's likely him in the car, and they're going to have to identify him. We know the result, which is extreme damage. And now going back on the meat -- on the means, how did he do this side.
Then on the motive, which I don't get to say this often, that was not only an effective press conference in terms of disclosing to the community what they knew at the time and what's going to happen next and helping businesses in the community come back, but it was lovely in a way in which they dealt with this very delicate, highly controversial issue.
Everyone's going to want the motive to satisfy their priors about IVF. And I think it was important that the FBI deputy director as well as the chief talked about the community that's impacted those couples or individuals who want children about form million children in the United States are born through IVF. They were careful with their language, using words like sensitive material.
So rather than getting into the debate and speaking directly to the IVF community, these are labor and cost and emotionally invested procedures for women who are extracting their eggs to learn that they're lost in an explosion, a potentially a politically motivated explosion would be devastated.
And I just -- I wanted to acknowledge that in these times in which everyone sort of is satisfying one side or the other, I thought that the department was particularly sensitive because the motive is odd. He's described as what's called mortal, not moral, mortalistic. This is a phenomenon or an ideology in which the adherent believes that an individual should be able to choose life. And there are many suicides related to this.
He apparently, we don't know the specifics yet, but would have chosen an IVF facility because of his criticism of those who are affirmatively trying to bring life into their homes and into their communities.
[13:40:11]
This is a perverse and toxic ideology. But the victims, of course, are the individuals and the couples and the women who wanted to bring life into this community. And I thought the sensitivity of not just saving the embryos but also in speaking to the community is an important part of law enforcement, important part of our communities now. And I think goes to the expertise and sensitivities of what we've seen unfold over the last 24 hours.
WHITFIELD: Yeah. Very delicate matter on so many levels. The American reproductive center. That's where it took place. It's a fertility clinic and an in vitro fertilization lab where this explains explosion took place.
KAYYEM: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right, Juliette, Stephanie and Josh. Thanks to all of you. Stick around. We're going to take a short break from now continue our conversation on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:45:31]
WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. A few new details as it relates to that investigation of the explosion at a fertility clinic at Palm Springs, California yesterday. Officials releasing the identity of the person of interest or the suspect that of 25-year old Guy Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, a city about 50 miles northeast of Palm Springs.
I've got a host of people with me now to kind of flush out some of the details that we heard and some mysteries that remain as it pertains to this investigation. Stephanie Elam was there at the press conference. And Stephanie, so we know the identity this 25 year old Guy Edward Bartkus, but what more do we know about him and now the ongoing search of his residence and community.
ELAM: Right. Fred, One thing that we do know is that they believe that he was the person of interest that caused this bomb to explode yesterday. They also are saying that they do believe that the community is safe. They do believe that this was a lone actor at this point.
And so they do not think that there's another threat here, which is important to point out for people to feel safe here. The other thing that I did ask about those four people that were injured in this attack, all four of them have been treated and released from the hospital. We learned during this press conference as well, which is some more good news coming out of this. But still there are a lot of threads out that they are searching.
So there's a lot of questions that were asked that the law enforcement officials were not prepared to answer at this time. They are looking into whether or not this rambling audio that is been posted was whether or not it was his, whether or not he had this manifesto. They are looking to put that together to see that he did have a problem with IVF in particular, but they're still working to connect those dots.
But at this point they're reaching out to the public because they want the public's help in identifying this man's movements here in these desert communities in the hours leading up to this attack. Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Stephanie, thank you. And Josh Campbell to you. We heard the police chief, Andrew Mills, say, and I'm quoting, I'm absolutely confident this city is safe. Why do they feel so confident that he acted alone?
CAMPBELL: Well, at this point, what they know, at least according to our sources, and they somewhat indicated there at the press conference, is that they believe that this was the individual that was responsible for this explosion and he perished in the bombing.
So at this point, again, they're saying that they don't know of any other threat that might be out there. But I can tell you what's going on behind the scenes right now with the FBI, with local law enforcement, is that they are scrubbing his entire life, his ENT history, trying to identify any potential associates.
Again, there's always a question, did anyone know what was about to occur whenever a particular incident like this happens? There's no indication yet that's the case. But that's something that they certainly want to rule out specifically for two reasons.
First here, we know from law enforcement that he was attempting to livestream this incident. It doesn't sound like that was actually successful, but of course, if someone is going to broadcast that, the question is, well, who was the intended recipient? And so that is something that they will certainly want to ground.
And then, obviously, you know, in this day and age, the internet is a wonderful thing, but it also brings together people who might have a warped view. And so we know based on his online postings and the like, that he had that online presence.
Again, authorities trying to figure out everyone that is in his orbit and that may come from somewhere other than the Palm Springs or Twentynine Palms area. Obviously, people could be located, you know, anywhere around the world, talking on social media and chat rooms and the like.
So a lot of work ahead of them. But as you mentioned, Palm Springs saying that they don't believe that there's any specific threat there. That wonderful news, obviously, for residents. And, you know, I have to point out, just personally, the three of us here, Stephanie, myself, Juliette, we go to Palm Springs like so many other people, because it is such a wonderful community to visit.
In fact, last time I saw Juliette, were there in Palm Springs together. And so we're certainly feeling for the community that's rocking that area. But again, local officials, they're trying to comfort the public that they think they have the person identified. And again, they don't know of no other existing threat there in the area.
WHITFIELD: Yes, you heard that sentiment underscored by the mayor pro tem who says, you know, Palm Springs is safe and it's open to everyone. Juliette Kayyem. We also heard the assistant director in charge of the FBI, Akil Davis, make it very clear that they were able to save all the embryos at this fertility clinic.
Why, in your view, was it so important for them touch on that? And how unique that was a point being made at this press conference?
[13:50:03]
KAYYEM: It was wonderful and welcome. Look, every terror attack, fire, whatever it is, there's going to be people and communities particularly impacted by this. So, you know, the burning of Notre Dame in Paris, for example, is meaningful, but it's particularly meaningful, for example, to Catholics. This is true of an IVF facility. People who struggle for pregnancy spend not just resources but mental and spiritual energy to try to have a child, to learn that effort may have been literally blown away would have been devastating.
And so for them to come forward and say, the most important element of this, forget the politics, forget the ideologies, the cults, whatever it is that they say what they call this sensitive material, which is, of course, the hope that these embryos can be implanted. The second is that direct addressing.
So not only did they save the embryos, but the direct addressing to what they called the IVF community, It's a large one of 4 million babies a year in the United States are born. And while we have major fights and controversies in this country about reproductive freedoms, this press conference just focused on the individuals impacted and spoke to them about how they have support and will continue to have support, not just in Palm Springs, but of course, from hopefully the American community.
And I thought that was an important message to make because it's not just about what happened yesterday. It's about moving forward and really commend Palm Springs officials for addressing that particular audience.
WHITFIELD: All right, our thanks to all of you. We'll talk more about this in this hour and this afternoon. Juliette Kayyem, Josh Campbell, Stephanie Elam, thank you so much. And we'll be right back.
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[13:56:28]
WHITFIELD: All right, more breaking news this time out of New York. We're learning new information about the Mexican Navy ship that crash into the Brooklyn Bridge last night. Officials saying it was heading in the wrong direction when it hit the bridge just minutes after leaving nearby Pier 17. CNN's Gloria Pasmeno is along the East River. Gloria, tell us more about what you're learning.
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, I spoke with the commissioner for the New York City Office of Emergency Management here just a few hours ago. He's been here on site and was at the site scene of the accident last night when it first happened. And he told me that the captain of the Cuautomo, the ship that you see now behind me, said that there was a loss of power.
Now once they had a loss of power on that ship, it meant that the rudder of the ship stopped working. When the rudder is not working anymore, that means that you cannot steer that ship. And that is why we see the ship apparently moving directly towards the bridge.
Now the commissioner told me that's not the direction that this ship supposed to be traveling in. And that's part of what they're looking into now as part of this investigation. The currents of the east river extremely strong last night. The commissioner told me they're also looking into that and into whether or not the currents actually help to carry the ship in the wrong direction, causing it to strike the pillar of the Brooklyn bridge like we see in those videos.
Now, sadly, two people were lost as a result of this incident. More than 200 people were on board the ship. Dozens of them were injured. And we have been watching here throughout the day as crew members have been in and out of the ship. The commissioner told me the city of New York, along with the Mexican government are currently working together to try and get the crew members back home to Mexico.
They're also working to make sure that the bodies of the two crew members who were tragically killed here last night can be returned to their families in Mexico. And the investigation still very much in its early stages. A group from the NTSB is expected here later this afternoon. Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much. We'll have much more on this breaking news at the top of the hour. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
