Pennsylvania police arrested a 38-year-old man who he said broke into the mansion of Gov. Josh Shapiro and set it on fire with homemade incendiary devices.
Shapiro, who is Jewish, said the suspect¡¯s motives weren¡¯t known but he evoked the Passover meal he hosted at the governor¡¯s residence hours before the fire was set early Sunday morning. He and his family were evacuated, and no one was injured.
¡°If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community, who joined us for a Passover seder in that room last night ¡ª hear me on this ¡ª we celebrated our faith last night proudly,¡± Shapiro, who at one point choked with emotion, told reporters outside the residence. ¡°No one will deter me or my family or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly.¡±
Authorities said the suspect, identified by the district attorney as Cody Balmer of Harrisburg, was taken into custody after climbing over the fence, evading state troopers who came looking for him and breaking into the mansion to set the fire. A criminal complaint to be filed imminently is expected to include charges of attempted murder and terrorism.
Shapiro said he spoke with FBI Director Kash Patel who ¡°promised all of the resources of the federal government¡± for the investigation.
Firefighters responded at about 2 a.m. to the blaze in Harrisburg, which caused significant damage to a portion of the residence, though Shapiro and his family were in a different part of it, state police said in a statement.
¡°Last night at about 2AM, 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,¡± Shapiro said on X.
The suspected attack occurred on the first day of Passover. Shapiro had posted an image of a dinner table set for the traditional Passover meal, or seder.
¡°This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society,¡± Shapiro said Sunday. ¡°It is not OK and it has to stop. We have to be better than this.¡±
Shapiro, 51, gained prominence in the Democratic Party after defeating Donald Trump-endorsed Republican Doug Mastriano in the 2022 Pennsylvania governor¡¯s race by almost 15 percentage points.
A contender for Kamala Harris¡¯ vice presidential pick in the 2024 presidential election, he is Pennsylvania¡¯s third Jewish governor.
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