The man charged in connection with an arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home over the weekend allegedly climbed the residence’s fence, used a hammer to break a window and threw Molotov cocktails in to start the blaze, prosecutors revealed.
Cody A. Balmer, 38, was charged with attempted criminal homicide, aggravated arson, burglary, terrorism and other counts in connection with the early Sunday morning attack, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Shapiro and first lady Lori Shapiro, as well as other guests and staff, were inside the Harrisburg residence when the fire erupted around 2 a.m. No one was injured in the fire, and the governor’s family was safely evacuated. However, prosecutors said the residence sustained “substantial damage.”
Balmer turned himself into the Pennsylvania State Police on Sunday and admitted to “harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro.”
When asked during a police interview what he would have done if Shapiro found him inside the residence, “he advised he would have beaten him with his hammer,” the probable cause affidavit said.
The attack
Balmer was caught on security cameras both within and outside the residence, officials said. He was seen wearing a black “snap-on” jacket, black boots and carrying a bag.
Video surveillance footage showed the suspect climbing over an exterior fence of Shapiro’s residence, approaching the piano room windows on the south side of the home and breaking an exterior window with a hammer, the criminal affidavit said. He then threw a Molotov cocktail inside through the broken glass. Shortly after, flames were seen in the interior of the home, the probable cause affidavit said.
Balmer then moved to an adjacent window, broke the glass, and entered the home through the broken window, the affidavit said. Once inside, he deployed a second incendiary device in the dining room that spurred another fire.
The affidavit states that Balmer then moved toward the dining room exit. Surveillance footage showed him wearing two different colored gloves — one orange and one yellow. He was seen kicking the dining room door open and exiting the residence. He left the property in the same direction he entered, climbing back over the perimeter fence, running through a parking lot and then fleeing the residence in a southeast direction, the affidavit said.
Investigators found two broken glass beer bottles containing gasoline in the dining room of the residence.
Investigators also collected videos from privately owned security cameras and found that the suspect had fled east on Peffer Street. A sweep of Peffer Street led investigators to locate the gloves that matched the suspect’s in a trash can. The gloves had a “strong smell of gasoline emanating from them,” the criminal affidavit said.
Turning himself in
Pennsylvania State Police in Harrisburg were contacted by a woman who said she was the ex-paramour of Balmer. She said Balmer confessed to the act and “wanted her to call police to turn him in,” the affidavit said.
A short time later, Balmer approached a Pennsylvania State Police trooper at the department headquarters. He said he was “responsible” for the fire in the governor’s residence and “wished to turn himself in.” He was transported to the Pennsylvania State Police office in Harrisburg, where he was interviewed, the affidavit said.
During the interview, he confessed his ill feelings toward Shapiro.
He told investigators that he removed gasoline from a lawn mower and poured it into beer bottles he found at his home, then walked for an hour to the governor’s residence with the intention of throwing the homemade Molotov cocktails into the home.
He admitted that he scaled the perimeter fence, broke two windows with a hammer and threw the Molotov cocktails inside. Balmer said after leaving the governor’s residence, he returned to his own home and removed the clothes he wore during the attack, the affidavit said.
Troopers responded to his home and seized the “snap-on” jacket, a black bag and a small sledgehammer, “which were identical to those observed in the surveillance at the Governor’s residence,” the affidavit said.
Balmer also told investigators that he was aware his actions would result in “negative consequences” and knew it was possible that Shapiro and others were home at the time and that they could have been harmed, according to the affidavit.
Balmer was transported to Dauphin County Prison for arraignment.
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