A male suspect was arrested after allegedly setting Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion on fire while the governor’s family was asleep early on Sunday morning.
According to a probable cause affidavit released by Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo, “an individual attacked the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg while Governor Shapiro and his family were within the residence.”
The probable cause affidavit noted that video surveillance obtained by law enforcement officials showed the suspect surveilling the governor’s mansion before “unlawfully entering the grounds over a wall in the early morning hours.”
“He approached one of the window[s] on the south side of the residence. Using a hammer he had brought, he quickly broke the window after multiple blows,” officials added in the probable cause affidavit. “He then threw a Molotov Cocktail into the residence igniting a substantial fire within. The perpetrator then moved to a window to the east and forcibly entered the residence. Within the Residence, he started two more fires with two other Molotov Cocktails. He then fled through a fire door.”
According to the affidavit, Shapiro and his family were forced to evacuate due to Sunday’s attack. The affidavit also confirmed that the governor’s mansion sustained “substantial damage” due to the fire.
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According to Fox News, law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 38-year-old Cody Balmer during a Sunday evening news conference. Officials also told reporters that Sunday’s arson attack occurred at roughly 2 a.m.
The New York Post reported that Balmer told police officials that he had planned to beat the governor with a hammer if he had encountered Shapiro during Sunday’s incident. According to Fox News, Balmer is expected to be charged with terrorism, attempted murder, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault against an enumerated person.
During Sunday’s press conference, law enforcement officials confirmed that the fire at the governor’s mansion had been extinguished and that no one was injured in the attack. Police officials told reporters, “While the investigation is ongoing, the State Police is prepared to say at this time that this was an act of arson.”
During a Sunday press conference, Shapiro publicly addressed the attack against his home, saying, “This kind of violence is not okay. This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society. And I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another, or one particular person or another. It is not okay, and it has to stop. We have to be better than this, and we have a responsibility to all be better.”
Pictures of the damage caused by the arson attack against the governor’s mansion have been shared on X, formerly Twitter.
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