Update: Suspect in custody in arson at Pa. governor's residence
HARRISBURG — Police say a person is in custody after a suspected arson fire at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion.
Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris identified the man in custody as Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg. Paris emphasized at a Sunday afternoon news conference that the investigation is continuing.
Dauphin County District Attorney Francis Chardo said that forthcoming charges will include attempted murder, terrorism, attempted arson and aggravated assault.
Authorities said the suspect hopped over a fence surrounding the property and forcibly entered the residence before setting it on fire.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were evacuated overnight from the official governor’s residence after someone set fire to the building, police said Sunday.
No one was injured and the fire was extinguished, according to authorities.
The fire broke out overnight on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which Shapiro and his family had celebrated at the governor's official residence in the state capital of Harrisburg.
State police gave no other details about the cause of the fire at the riverfront mansion but said it caused a “significant amount of damage” to a portion of the residence. Shapiro and his family had been in a different part of the residence, police said.
In a statement, Shapiro, said he and his family woke up at about 2 a.m. to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after the fire broke out.
The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was called to the residence and, while they worked to put out the fire, police evacuated Shapiro and his family from the residence safely, Shapiro said.
“Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished,” Shapiro said in a statement.
On Sunday, fire damage was visible on the residence’s south side, primarily to a large room often used for entertaining crowds and art displays. There was still a police presence early Sunday afternoon as yellow tape cordoned off an alleyway and an officer led a dog outside an iron security fence.
Shapiro splits his time between the mansion that has housed governors since it was built in the 1960s and a home in Abington, about 100 miles east. He posted a picture on social media Saturday of the family's Passover Seder table at the residence.
