Bomber of California fertility clinic identified, described himself as pro-mortalist

The bomber at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, has been identified as a 25-year-old man who left an online manifesto in which he described himself as a pro-mortalist, saying people didn’t give consent to exist.

The suspect is Guy Edward Bartkus, a 25-year-old man from Twentynine Palms, a small city about 35 miles northeast of Palm Springs. He left a 30-minute audio recording in which he explained his motive for the attack.

“I figured I would just make a recording explaining why I’ve decided to bomb an IVF building, or clinic,” he said at the beginning of the recording. “Basically, it just comes down to I’m angry that I exist and that, you know, nobody got my consent to bring me here.”

Describing himself as anti-life, he adds: “I’m very against [IVF], it’s extremely wrong. These are people who are having kids after they’ve sat there and thought about it. How much more stupid can it get?”

Bartkus also set up a tripod with a camera in an effort to film his attack, but the file failed to upload to his website, according to law enforcement sources.

In a FAQ section of his website, he further explains that his best friend Sophie shared similar views and recently died after convincing her boyfriend to shoot her as she slept. “IIRC we had agreed that if one of us died, the other would probably soon follow,” Bartkus wrote.

His description seemed to match the death of 27-year-old Sophie Tinney in Fox Island, Washington on April 22. Police arrested her boyfriend, 29-year-old Lars Eugene Nelson, and believe Tinney convinced Nelson to shoot her in the head as she slept. Nelson was charged with second-degree murder.

Bartkus is believed to be the only person who was killed in Saturday’s bombing at American Reproductive Centers, though officials have yet to formally identify his remains. Four other people were injured and taken to hospital.

“Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism,” an FBI spokesman said at a briefing. The clinic was closed at the time of the attack and all of the stored embryos are believed to be safe.