Korean American Accomplice in US Infertility Clinic Bombing Dies in Jail

Found Unconscious in Jail Cell

Daniel Jongyeon Park (32), who was indicted as an accomplice in last month's car bombing attack at an infertility clinic in California, has died in jail.

Mugshot of Daniel Jongyeon Park (32), who was indicted on charges of conspiring to carry out a terror attack on a US infertility clinic. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

On the 24th (local time), the US Federal Bureau of Prisons announced in a statement that Park was found unconscious at around 7:30 a.m. at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles (LA). Park received emergency medical treatment and was transported to a nearby hospital immediately after being found, but was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Bureau of Prisons stated that no staff or other inmates at the facility where Park was held were injured, and that there was no further danger. The Bureau also reported that it had notified relevant authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), about Park's death. However, authorities did not disclose any further information regarding the cause of Park's death.

Park had been indicted for providing material support, including bomb-making ingredients, to the perpetrator of the explosion that occurred on May 17 at an infertility clinic in Palm Springs, California.

Guy Edward Bartkus (25), a California resident who conspired with Park, drove a vehicle loaded with explosives and detonated it in front of the infertility clinic building, causing severe damage to part of the building and injuring four people nearby. Bartkus himself also died at the scene.

Since the attack took place on a weekend, the infertility clinic was closed, so there were no casualties among hospital staff or patients.

According to the prosecution's investigation, Park and Bartkus met through an online community that shared extreme "anti-natalism" beliefs. Anti-natalism refers to the ideology that opposes human reproduction and population growth.

Prosecutors stated that Park purchased approximately 80 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive substance, and supplied it to Bartkus. The two stayed together at Bartkus's home, where they manufactured the explosives.

After Bartkus carried out the attack, Park fled to Europe by plane, but was apprehended in Poland about two weeks later by local authorities acting on a request for cooperation from the US Department of Justice. Park was subsequently extradited to New York on June 3, arrested, and had been held at the LA federal detention center since June 13, awaiting trial.

Park was originally from Seattle, Washington, and, based on his Korean surname "Park" and given name "Jongyeon," was presumed to be a Korean American.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.