American Reproductive Centers' Dr. Maher Abdallah, center, and staff gather for a lunch meeting in Palm Springs, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, just days after an explosive attack destroyed their surgery center.

(USA TODAY Network) — Days after a car explosion targeted a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, clinic staff led by Dr. Maher Abdallah and city officials held a press conference Thursday to outline next steps for rebuilding and ensuring Palm Springs remains a place of hope.

The American Reproductive Centers clinic, located at 1199 N. Indian Canyon Drive, sustained significant damage on May 17 when an explosion occurred near the facility. The center was closed that day, and ARC later confirmed that no eggs, embryos or reproductive materials were damaged.

The FBI later identified Guy Edward Bartkus, a 25-year-old Twentynine Palms resident, as the suspected bomber. The blast killed Bartkus and injured four people, all of whom have been released from the nearby hospital.

Bartkus is believed to have acted on his anti-natalist beliefs, meaning he was strongly against people having children.

Maher was supposed to be present at time of Palm Springs bombing

Amer Abdallah, Maher’s cousin and business partner, revealed during the press conference that the physician was originally supposed to be at ARC the morning of the bombing.

Maher said he usually comes by the office around 11 a.m. on Saturdays so he can grab mail and do paperwork. However, he didn’t go to the clinic because he was out of town.

He added that the mail carrier did come at the regular time, and he saw their truck parked by the clinic. The mail carrier is “alive and well,” but he did not know if they were among the four people who were injured in the blast.

“I’m thankful that my staff, my patients, all the embryos are safe,” Maher said. “This material loss, which destroyed buildings … it doesn’t mean much to me. Life is preserved, and that’s all I care about.”

He offered to pay for funeral services of bombing suspect Guy Edward Bartkus

Amer said he was “livid” following the explosion and demanded justice. His cousin, however, told him to “calm down” and that he didn’t blame the suspect for what happened.

Amer added that Maher asked him to reach out to Bartkus’ family and offer to pay for his funeral services. He said he left a message and wished them well.

“I told him, ‘You are such a better man than I am,’ but that tells you who Dr. Abdallah is, what life means to him, what this clinic that he’s built over the past 20-plus years, his whole livelihood of schooling and education and further education, that’s who he is,” Amer said.

ARC will resume operations at a new Palm Springs location on Tuesday

Amer announced that, beginning Tuesday, ARC will see patients at an office located across the street at the El Mirador Medical Plaza, where the hospital leases out space to providers.

Over the next few days, equipment will be moved to the new clinical space. On Sunday, cryotanks, where frozen eggs, embryos and other reproductive materials are stored, will be moved as well. They are currently in a secure location, Maher said.

“We will rebuild, we will grow and we will continue to help families grow,” Amer added.

Earlier this week, the ARC staff continued to see patients at a borrowed space in Palm Desert.

Future ARC clinic will focus on electronic records, elevated security

Following the blast, patient records were scattered throughout the area. Maher said they will likely limit paper records and utilize electronic records moving forward.

Additionally, the doctor said the clinic will rebuild at its original site and that it will be “better than ever before.” Security personnel are expected to be at the rebuilt site 24/7. There were already 28 cameras located at the complex, along with 10 cameras facing the cryotanks.

“I’m not going to change how I live, I’m not going to look behind my back, thinking or worry, we’re just going to have good security and live a normal live,” the doctor said.

Naomi Soto, Palm Springs mayor pro tem, said during the press conference that Maher’s decision to stay in Palm Springs and continue to serve patients is “monumental.”

Embryos looked ‘perfect’ following blast

During the blast, there were 14 embryos that were dividing in incubators. Days later, Maher Abdallah took a look at them and eight of them were “perfect blastocysts,” balls of cells that forms early in a pregnancy. That number is consistent with a “normal conversion” from cleavage embryo to blastocyst embryo.

“I guarantee that the patient that has those embryos will go home with a child,” he said. “This is a miracle.”

The embryos belong to one family, a same-sex couple.

What saved those embryos, he said, was the swift action from first responders, who ensured electricity was back on in the clinic.

In total, ARC has frozen eggs, embryos and sperm in the “thousands,” Maher said. The clinic has served more than 2,200 families.

Palm Springs offers to help rebuild clinic, other damaged buildings

Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte shared that the City of Palm Springs is working to provide as much relief assistance as possible to the clinic and other businesses and buildings that sustained damage during the blast.

He said the city is “pouring every ounce of our collective effort” into working with state, county and regional offices to bring resources to the local community. deHarte added he had a “heartfelt conversation” with California’s Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who connected his office with city staff to explore support avenues.

The city’s economic development team was on the scene Saturday following the explosion collecting business contacts and meeting with those in the impacted area. Additionally, he said the city’s building team, alongside county officials and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, toured the affected area and are finalizing a list of the impacted properties to fully understand the estimated cost of damage.

“We are also tirelessly working with Cal OES, the county (Emergency Management Department) and our local team to determine the eligibility for the economic disaster loans that may be available through the (Small Business Administration),” the mayor said. “We are bringing every available resource to our community.”

In the coming days, deHarte said the Palm Springs City Council will review and approve support programs, including the creation of a disaster overlay zone to define the area with visible damage from the attack.

This will allow business and property owners to be eligible for reduced building permit fees, planning application fees and potentially business license fees.

Building permits, planning entitlements and business license and inspection processes will be expediated “to ensure smooth and swift recovery.”

“Our community will forever remain the vibrant Palm Springs the country loves,” he said.