A man is in custody after allegedly setting fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were home.
Cody Balmer, 38, was arrested and is facing charges of “will include attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault against an enumerated person” after police said he set fire to the governor’s mansion early Sunday morning in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, per The Hill.
During a press conference Sunday, Pennsylvania State Police Colonel Christopher Paris said
Balmer had been arrested over the fire. which which woke up Shapiro (D) and his family at 2 a.m. Sunday.
Dauphin County District Attorney Francis Chardo listed the several charges pending against Balmer during the press conference.
“These are all very serious charges, as with any charges, the defendant is presumed innocent,” Chardo added. “We will file those charges within the next several hours.”
The suspect also made “homemade incendiary devices,” according to Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said, according to Fox News.
“He actively evaded troopers who were here to secure the residence,” Bivens said. “While [police] were searching is when he attacked at the residence, [and] broke in and set the fires.”
“So that was all playing out over a period of several minutes. It was a very quick event that occurred, and, and again, troopers were actively searching for him at the time,” Bivens added.
Shapiro, who was in contention to be a vice president candidate on the Democratic ticket alongside then-Vice President Kamala Harris, also spoke during the press conference.
“If this individual was trying to deter me from doing my job as your governor, rest assured, I will find a way to work even harder than I was just yesterday for the good people of Pennsylvania.”
Shapiro posted about the fire on X.
“My family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg,” he wrote.
“The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene and while they worked to put out the fire, we were evacuated from the Residence safely by Pennsylvania State Police and assisted by Capitol Police,” Shapiro continued. “Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished.”
There was significant damage to part of the mansion.
The family had just celebrated the first night of Passover, a Jewish holiday.
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