Residents described the intensity of a deadly explosion in Palm Springs, likening the frightening jolt in the resort community east of Los Angeles to a thunderclap or car crash.

The attack, though unsuccessful, delivered a seismic shock to patients who feared for the safety of their embryos. But a firefighter’s risky plan averted disaster.

Bartkus is believed to be the person who detonated a bomb at the Palm Springs American Reproductive Center, which offers services like IVF, because he was aligned with the pro-mortalist and anti-natalist movements—the idea that humans should not continue to procreate.