A 38-year-old man is to face attempted homicide and aggravated arson charges after allegedly setting a fire at Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro’s residence, state authorities have said.
The suspect, identified as Cody Balmer from Harrisburg, whose motive is still unknown, slipped over a fence around the property carrying home-made incendiary devices and evaded state troopers for long enough to enter the residence, set it on fire and leave, said Pennsylvania police officials.
He was apprehended shortly before a police press conference at the residence on Sunday.
State police banged on the bedroom doors of Mr Shapiro and his family around 2am to raise the alarm as local firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. No one was injured, although burn marks could be seen on parts of the building.
Mr Shapiro, a Democrat seen as a potential candidate for his party’s presidential nomination in 2028, said at the press conference that FBI director Kash Patel had spoken to him a few hours earlier and promised “all the resources of the federal government” in investigating the attack.
US attorney general Pam Bondi said in a post on X that she was “deeply relieved” the governor and his family were safe and applauded the rapid arrest of Mr Balmer.
The residence was set on fire hours after Mr Shapiro posted a picture of his family’s “seder” table as they celebrated the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which is about going “from slavery into freedom,” according to Mr Shapiro.
“I refuse to be trapped by the bondage that someone attempts to put on me by attacking us as they did here last night,” he said, vowing to continue his work for Pennsylvania without fear.
When asked whether the attack could have been a hate-motivated crime, Mr Shapiro said he would defer to the findings from federal authorities and Pennsylvania’s district attorney.
A “multifaceted review in terms of security measures and the exact timeline of how it happened” will be carried out, said Lieut Christopher Paris, commissioner of the Pennsylvania state police. – Reuters
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