Daniel Park, a suspect charged earlier this month in connection with the bombing outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, has tragically died while in federal custody. The Bureau of Prisons reported this development on Tuesday, revealing that the 32-year-old from Seattle was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.
According to a statement from the Bureau of Prisons, responding employees quickly initiated life-saving measures after discovering Park unresponsive. Emergency medical services were called to the scene, and he was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. At this time, the precise cause of death remains unclear, and both the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service have been notified to investigate the circumstances surrounding his passing. Importantly, no employees or other incarcerated individuals were reported injured during this incident.
Park, a U.S. citizen, had been transferred to the Los Angeles detention center on June 13 after being indicted for alleged malicious destruction of property. His apprehension occurred in Poland earlier this month when he attempted to flee to Warsaw shortly after the bombing incident outside the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic on May 17. Park was accused of shipping approximately 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a substance commonly used as a precursor for constructing homemade explosives, to the bomber, identified by officials as 25-year-old Guy Bartkus.
In a tragic turn of events, Bartkus died in the explosion outside the fertility clinic. Following the blast, Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, characterized the attack as an intentional act of terrorism. Prosecutors presented evidence indicating that both Park and Bartkus shared nihilist beliefs, which they argued motivated the bombing.
The criminal complaint filed against Park alleged that the attack was driven by his pro-mortalism, anti-natalism, and anti-pro-life ideology, suggesting a belief that individuals should not be born without their consent and that non-existence is preferable. Although the clinic suffered damage from the explosion, staff members confirmed that none of the embryos stored there were lost, and operations resumed in a temporary location shortly thereafter.
This incident raises significant questions about the motivations behind such violent acts and the broader implications for public safety and reproductive rights. As investigations continue, the focus remains on understanding the circumstances surrounding both the bombing and Park's untimely death in custody.
