A suspect will be charged with attempted murder and terrorism offenses after an overnight fire at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg forced Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family to evacuate on Sunday, officials said.
Officials said Cody Balmer, 38, hopped a fence and intentionally set a fire at the Governor’s Residence early Sunday morning while Shapiro and his family were home. Balmer, of Harrisburg, is set to be charged with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and more, officials said. He was taken into custody on Sunday in the Harrisburg area.
Shapiro said the attack was targeted, but officials don’t know Balmer’s specific motive yet.
“This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society,” Shapiro said. “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 OK, and it has to stop. We have to be better than this. We have a responsibility to all be better.”
State police said crews from the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire went to the Governor’s Residence on North Front Street in Dauphin County around 2 a.m. Sunday for a report of a fire.
Shapiro said that he and his family were asleep at the home when the fire broke out. The Pennsylvania governor said they woke up to bangs on the door by the Pennsylvania State Police. Shapiro, his wife, Lori, and his children, along with two dogs and the relatives staying with them, evacuated the Governor’s Residence as Harrisburg fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze.
The Pennsylvania governor said that no one was injured and the fire was brought under control.
The fire happened after Shapiro, who is Jewish, and his family celebrated the first night of Passover. Shapiro declined to call the fire a hate crime, but said that the blaze won’t deter him from doing his job or celebrating his faith.
“I’m not fearful,” Shapiro said. “I’m obviously emotional. I’m worried about my family. I want my kids to be OK. When we were in the State Dining Room last night, gathered with the community and family and friends, we told the story of Passover, and it’s a story of going from bondage, from slavery into freedom. I think it’s an important story, both literally and figuratively, to tell, and I refuse to be trapped by the bondage that someone attempts to put on me by attacking us, as they did here last night. I refuse to let anyone who had evil intentions like that stop me from doing the work that I love, stop me from being a leader of this commonwealth and looking out for all Pennsylvanians. I will not be deterred in my work, and I will not be afraid to do that work.”
Read the full report on CBS.
