A man from Harrisburg, accused of attempting to kill the governor Josh Shapiro and his family, came to the governor’s residence early Sunday armed with a hammer and bottles of beer filled with gasoline. After more than an hour of walking in the middle of the night from home to the estate in the center of Harrisburg, he was able to scale the fence, break into the residence, featherlight three fires and escape – stunning violation of the safety and protection of the executive director in Pennsylvania.
38 -year -old Cody Balmer, who established the reign of the residence, knowing that Shapiro and his family could be there, they told the police that he “wears hatred” for him and would attack Shapiro with a hammer, if he saw him in the residence, in accordance with the statement of the likely reason describing the allegations against Balmer, for trying to kill, and other crops, trying to kill, He was hidden, trying to clamp to kill to kill to kill to be able to be able to kill to kill. governor.
The arson attack took place a few hours after Shapiro, one of the most outstanding officials chosen by Jews in the country, hosted Seder for Passover in the same Balmer room, which admits to setting up, causing significant damage to home incendiary devices. And raises questions about how Shapiro, a popular democrat of the first term, can be subject to such danger when he is under observation of the details of the state police and additional security in the residence, culminating the amazing show violence.
Balmer, dressed in “Snap-on” a jacket with a “characteristic arm Patches ”first broke the window, and then threw a bottle of Heineken filled with gasoline into the piano room in the wing of the governor’s residence, the police said. Then he moved on the other side of the building, sticking the next window and climbing inside before he began two other fires, climbing from the building and escaped at the fence.
And everything could have been much worse. Brian Enterline, head of the fire brigade in Harrisburg, said at a press conference on Monday, which had a door that connects the reception with the rest of the residence-where Shapiro, his wife, four children and about 20 members of the distant family-was not closed, the fire would quickly spread to the rest of 29,000 feet.
State police refused to answer questions about Shapiro security details, security operations at the governor’s residence, how the police were notified of violation and whether Balmer had previously threatened Shapiro’s life. A spokesman for the State Police stated that the questions were not answered “due to concerns about the security or integrity of the busy investigation.”
Shapiro, during a press conference before a few charred and broken windows in the residence, said that “he had complete confidence in the State Police in Pennsylvania”, but refused to tell about his security details.
Crack burglary and past
Over the past decade, Balmer has become in the face of criminal charges over the past decade, including assault, forgery and traffic crimes. His presence in social media on Facebook suggested that he has no loyalty to a specific political party or hatred of specific groups, publishing mainly about drug use, problems related to relationships and memes in the entire political spectrum.
In 2023, Balmer was accused of three cases of a simple robbery in the case of Dauphin in the case. In 2016, he pleaded guilty for one forgery crime and was sentenced to 18 months of suspension.
Mother Balmer, Christie Balmer, said The Associated Press that her son has bipolar disease and schizophrenia, and did not take his medicine.
Balmer was taken to the District Hospital “because of a medical event not related to this incident or his arrest,” the police said on Monday. He was accused of that evening and refused to deposit.
According to the criminal complaint, “former Paramour Balmer” called the police and said that Balmer confessed to her, asking her to call the police, when officials announced that he was in progress in the course of the perpetrator. Then Balmer appeared at the headquarters of the State Police in Harrisburg on Sunday afternoon and devoted himself as the complaint.
Balmer told investigators that he hated Shapiro and that if he found the governor on Sunday morning, he “defeated him” with a hammer he brought with him to break into the residence, as complained.
He also told the police that he went to the residence for an hour for an hour, after which he would jump the fence of the property – where the eight governors of Pennsylvania called home since 1968 – hacking to start fires and run on foot.
Enterline, the head of the fire brigade, told journalists at the Monday press conference that Balmer was within and outside the governor’s residence for about a minute, illuminating bottles filled with gasoline from his mower before he “quickly beat the combustion product.”
According to Enterline, he said that, as requested to ship, there were as many as 25 people at home at home, calling Balmer a “national terrorist” for exposing the life of the first family and firefighters in Pennsylvania.
Enterline said it took about 30 minutes to make the crew to make burning in the governor’s residence.
The first night of Passover
Burglary and fires in the residence took place the first night of Passover. The state police said on Sunday that “all roads” were examined in terms of the Balmer motif, including potential hate crimes. The criminal complaint filed a Sunday, notes that Balmer hated Shapiro, but does not describe in detail whether this applies to his Judaism. No motive was given from Monday afternoon.
If anti -Semitism played a role in the attack, Pennsylvania, Prosecutor General Dave Sunday, said during the appearance of CNN: “This is reprehensible and everyone who did it must be held responsible in the best law.”
He added that it was “very, very disturbing” that Balmer was able to enter the governor’s residence.
Shapiro, who would not be unreachable, stopped that night in a residence with his family and further family, after the start of the Jewish holiday. A few hours earlier in the room that Balmer accepted, he hosted Sedera’s Passover.
The scope of damage to the residence with an area of 29,000 square feet along the Susquehanna River, built in 1968, was unclear on Monday, but Enterline estimated that this would cost “millions of dollars” due to the historical nature of the residence.
Shapiro, in emotional remarks, condemned this incident on Sunday, saying: “This kind of violence becomes too common in our society … We must be better. And we have to be better.”
“If he tried to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community that joined us to Sedera’s Passover in this room last night, I will hear me about it: we celebrated our faith last night and in a few hours we will celebrate our second Sedera Passover in a few hours,” added Shapiro.
“Terrifying thing”
Shapiro thanked President Donald Trump and federal authorities for supporting the state police in investigation. He told journalists on Sunday that he talked to the director of the FBI Kash Patel, who “was extremely nice, polite and thought out in his conversation with me.”
Trump – who had previously attacked Shapiro in social media, focusing on the Governor’s Jewish faith, after Shapiro was competed to become a friend from former Vice President of Kamali Harris – he briefly spoke to this incident while talking to reporters in the oval office on Monday afternoon, saying “this thing cannot be allowed.”
The president’s comments were the answer to the reporter’s question, who asked if he was informed about the potential motive, taking into account the federal investigators help in the poll.
“No, no,” Trump replied, “but the attacker was not a fan of Trump, I understand, but from what I read and what I was said. The attacker was basically not a fan of anyone.”
During the unrelated event in Lebanon on Monday, US senator Dave McCormick said that he talked to Shapiro on the day of burglary and that the governor told him that he was “concerned” to organize an 80-member Sedera at his home.
“Less than 12 hours later we have it,” added a republican senator. “In our society of violence, violence against public officials, there is no place and it is a terrifying thing.”
Former Governor Tom Wolf, a direct predecessor of Democrat and Shapiro, who was largely quiet in retired, broke the silence on Monday to call the attack “deeply disturbing and unacceptable”.
“He stands in a clear contrast with the values that we have as a community and society,” said Wolf. “We’re better than that.”
Shapiro lives in the residence of Governor Harrisburg when he is not in his home in the town of Abington. He has four children, two of whom are still minors who attend school in Montgomery.
He also often uses residences for events, including as a place of budget negotiations, which are to start in the coming months.
Shapiro on Monday, through its SMS platform -yHe expressed gratitude to those who offered him and his family support after the attack.
“Know that we are raised by the featherlight that you shone on us in this complex time,” said the message. “From the depths of our hearts, thank you.”
Employee writer Anna Orso contribution to this article.
