Within 48 hours of discovering the fire at the Governor’s residence in Harrisburg, some questions were answered, but many others appeared.
- How could Cody Balmer not only go to the property, but also go inside?
- Did Balmer have the history of mental illness?
- Did the residence have a fire suppressing system and even smoke detectors?
- Was the arson of hate crime? Was it anti -Semitism?
- What happens next?
How Balmer got on the property
Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) announced that 38-year-old Balmer scaled a 7-meter iron safety fence in the early hours of Sunday, broke and set fire to the residence of the governor with several incendiary devices, According to a criminal complaint. Governor Josh Shapirohis wife LoriTheir four children and other family members and guests were in the residence at that time.
“He actively avoided soldiers who were here to secure the residence, even when they were looking for him on the estate,” State Police Pennsylvania Lieutenant George Bivens He said at a press conference, adding that there was a security review to make sure that it would not happen again.
Balmer was accused of eight credits, including six allegations of crime for criminal murder, tightened arson, burglary, terrorism and two for a tightened assault.
The State Police in Pennsylvania is designed to protect the governor, lieutenant governor and their families as part of a special team called the Executive Office. The soldiers were served on the night of fire, in accordance with the statement of arrest of Balmer. Security cameras in the area caught many incidents.
Shapiro praised the first respondents for quick actions, but there are questions about how Balmer was able to easily scale the fence housing, avoid the police and break into the residence.
Did Balmer have the history of mental illness?
The complaint reported that Balmer removed gasoline from the mower and poured it into bottles of Heineken beer in his residence. He broke two windows with a hammer and threw raw Molotov cocktails inside. After admitting that he was aware that people could be wounded by his actions, Balmer said that if he had fallen into Shapiro, he would “beat him with a hammer.”
According to CBS NewsMother Balmer, ChristieShe said that her son stopped taking indefinite drugs and that she had talks within a few days before setting on his mental health problems four different police department, but “she couldn’t make anyone to help.”
During the interrogation in the case of the accusation, Cody Balmer told the judge that he had no mental illness, saying it was “rumor”. He also mentioned that “drugs led me to various types of behavior.”
Did the residence have smoke detectors or sprinkler system?
29,000 square feet of the residence on the Susquehanna River was completed in 1968 and was the address of eight governors. The authorities claim that the place of residence did not have sprayers with fireproof, but had smoke detectors.
According to the CNN reportPSP officials did not answer the network questions about whether smoke alarms went to the property.
Head of the fire brigade Harrisburg Brian Enterline He said that damage to the residence could have been much worse He had a door leading from the reception of the house that were not closed. The glow was under control within 30 minutes, but there were extensive damage. He estimated that repairs could partly cost “millions of dollars” due to the historical nature of the residence.
It was not for the first time that the residence was damaged because the residence was absorbed by five feet of water after the flood during Hurricane Agnes in 1972.
Was the arson of hate crime? Was it anti -Semitism? Or both?
The attack took place only a few hours after Shapiro and his family celebrated the first night of Passover with a established toilet. Although nothing in the criminal complaint or preliminary interrogation for Balmer indicated that anti -Semitism played a role in the attack, it is not complex to determine the line of this conclusion due to the closeness of arson to eight -day compliance with Passover, a Jewish holiday that commemorates the liberation of Israelites from slavery in archaic Egypt.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America issued a statement stating: “We are deeply disturbed by the unrestricted aiming of the Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro and his family. This terrifying incident is traumatic for Jewish Americans who felt the emergence of anti -Semitism and hatred throughout the United States. On the holidays of the United States. The frames and in the matter of bringing in Gaza and other people with hatred and others who have become undertakings, as well as others who have a passion for non -leisure, while others are condemned.
The Jewish Coalition in Pennsylvania adds: “While the investigation is ongoing, the convergence of these factors, especially considering the long history of anti -Semitic pogroms on holidays, raises stern fears and pain for our community. Anti -Semitic acts are significantly increased in Pennsylvania and the United States in recent years. Only tolerate and celebrated.”
Shapiro refused to name a fire of hatred, but it was found that “he heard me about it, we were proud to celebrate our faith, and in a few hours we would celebrate our second Sedera Passover again.”
What happens next?
Balmer was denied the deposit and waits for a preliminary interrogation Judge Dale E. Klein On Wednesday, April 23, at 11 am in the place to be determined.
