A Korean man in his 30s, charged as a terrorist accomplice in last month's explosion incident at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, was found dead in a U.S. detention center.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Prisons on the 24th (local time), the deceased was identified as Daniel Jongyeon Park, 32, who was found unresponsive around 7:30 a.m. inside the Los Angeles (LA) federal detention center. Corrections staff immediately performed CPR and transported him to a nearby hospital, but he was ultimately pronounced dead.
The Bureau of Prisons reported that there were no injuries among staff or other inmates in the facility where Park was located and stated there was no public safety risk. The cause of Park's death has not been disclosed, and relevant agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have been notified of the incident.
Park was charged by federal prosecutors as an accomplice in the vehicle explosion incident at the Palm Springs fertility clinic that occurred on the 17th of last month. The mastermind behind the attack, Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, transported ammonium nitrate-based explosives in a vehicle and detonated them in front of the hospital building. The explosion caused part of the building to collapse, injuring four nearby civilians. Bartkus died at the scene.
Since the hospital was closed for the weekend at the time, there were no direct injuries to internal staff or patients.
Investigators revealed that Park met Bartkus in an online community sharing an anti-natalist belief. The two manufactured explosives based on their extreme beliefs against population growth, and it was found that Park purchased the primary explosive ingredient, ammonium nitrate, and provided it to Bartkus.
Immediately after the crime, Park fled to Europe but was arrested by local authorities in Poland about two weeks later and was extradited to the U.S. on the 3rd. He was subsequently arrested in New York and has been detained at the LA detention center since the 13th.
U.S. media, including local broadcaster KTLA, reported that Park was born in the Seattle area of Washington state. He was presumed to be a Korean American based on the unique Korean surname 'Park' and the Korean name 'Jongyeon' he used.