As Sarah wrote yesterday, someone tried to burn down the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion using incendiary devices. The suspect, Cody Balmer, 38, was apprehended hours later. The damage inside was extensive. Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were inside but left unscathed. How did Balmer enter the grounds without detection? Pennsylvania State Police knew there was a breach, but did not discover Balmer, who merely jumped a fence. He also left the same way he came in, which leads us to this question: How did this psycho get past security? How they were able to identify Balmer as the suspect is also under wraps for now (via Penn Live):
At a press conference late Sunday afternoon, Pennsylvania State Police said they had apprehended the suspected arsonist, identified as Cody Balmer, age 38, of Penbrook. A portion of the building was badly damaged by fire; Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family evacuated unharmed.
Around 2 a.m. Sunday, Balmer “came over a fence right behind where all of you are standing right now,” PSP Lt. Col. George Bivens told reporters gathered at the scene.
“He actively evaded troopers who were here to secure the residence, even while they were searching for him on the property,” Bivens continued. “While they were searching is when he attacked the residence, broke in and set the fires.”
Gubernatorial security “knew that there had been a breach on the property and we were searching to determine what had occurred,” Bivens said. The grounds of the residence — located just south of McClay Street between Second and Front streets — are blanketed in security cameras.
Balmer was on the property for a few minutes, Bivens said, and was inside the building for less than a minute where he deposited what were described as “homemade incendiary devices.”
“He then exited the property the same way he came on, back over the fence,” Bivens said. Balmer was arrested in the Harrisburg area before Sunday’s press conference began around 5 p.m.
Police did not go into detail about how Balmer was identified. Charges — including attempted murder — are expected to be filed Sunday night, along with an affidavit detailing how investigators determined Balmer to be the culprit, according to Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo.
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Photo inside Pennsylvania Governor’s residence of some of the fire damage after 2am arson attack. 38 year old Harrisburg man in custody being charged with multiple counts of attempted murder & more. @PAStatePolice say he got over fence & broke in with “homemade incendiary… pic.twitter.com/0nAF6aISAK
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) April 13, 2025
This psycho made it all the way inside the governor’s mansion in Pennsylvania with an incendiary device. He is accused of setting Governor Josh Shapiro’s home on fire with the family sleeping inside.
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) April 13, 2025
How did he make it past security?! pic.twitter.com/Y1stmUK5vE
Was this human error? The situation is unacceptable. A governor was targeted in what is arguably an assassination attempt. While it’s nowhere near the size and scope of the attempt on President Trump’s life, both incidents seem to share one thing: that it’s likely someone in the security detail screwed up big time.
Also, police haven't released a motive. If Balmer were hard-core MAGA, that would've been leaked by now. How long until this story gets buried?
LMFAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO https://t.co/7H645671dL
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) April 14, 2025
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