Pennsylvania State Police revealed that a suspect is in custody after an arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro‘s (D-PA) mansion early Sunday morning.
In a press conference on Sunday afternoon, State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris said a 38-year-old man named Cody Balmer, who is from the Harrisburg area where the governor’s mansion is located, has been arrested.
Paris added that the investigation is “active and dynamic,” while stressing it is still in its early stages.
“We are conducting an arson investigation and an attempted homicide,” he said.
Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo also said charges will include attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault.
Shapiro and his family were at the mansion in the early hours of Sunday when state police evacuated them from the home due to a fire. The fire was extinguished and no one was injured, but the building suffered “a significant amount of damage,” according to state police.
Police revealed in the press conference that the suspect entered the residence for less than a minute, before setting fire to it and escaping by jumping over a fence.
“He clearly had a plan,” Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said. “He was very methodical in his approach.”
Bivens added that the suspect used “homemade incendiary devices” in the attack.
Shapiro was visibly emotional as he recounted the attack to reporters but expressed that he would not be deterred from his work as governor of the Keystone State.
“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, hear me on this: We celebrated our faith last night, proudly, and in a few hours, we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover,” he said.
“No one will deter me or my family, or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly,” Shapiro added.
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This is a developing story.
