Gov. Shapiro responds to home set on fire while family was sleeping: 'This attack was targeted'

I want to thank the Pennsylvania State Police for safely evacuating our family, for their bravery last evening, and for their careful leadership of this investigation

I want to thank Harrisburg Fire, their chief, who was personally on the scene and spent time with me and my family last night

He and the other firefighters from Harrisburg ran toward danger to help keep us safe and quickly putting out the fire

I want to thank the Capitol Police for assisting the Pennsylvania State Police last night in ensuring everything was orderly

I want to thank the FBI and our federal partners for their assistance

I spoke a couple hours ago with Director Kash Patel of the FBI

He promised all of the resources of the federal government. He was extremely kind and courteous and thoughtful in his conversation with me

And I thanked him and the women and men of the FBI and the President of the United States for their support

I especially want to thank your local district attorney, Fran Charto. Fran is someone I've known for 20 years in public service, an outstanding leader in law enforcement

You'll hear from him in a few moments. Lori and I are..

Lori and I are overwhelmed

by the prayers and the messages of support that we've received

from all across Pennsylvania and all across the United States. We've heard from our fellow governors

and first spouses. We've heard from several of the former governors of Pennsylvania

We've heard from so many friends and loved ones. And we've heard from so many caring citizens of this great Commonwealth

I want you all to know that your prayers lift us up

And in this moment of darkness, we are choosing to see light

We appreciate the light that you have shined upon us. Pennsylvania State Police led by Colonel Christopher Paris will brief on the specifics of what transpired

But we do know that this attack was targeted. We don't know the person's specific motive yet

But we do know a few truths. First, this type of violence is not okay

this kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society and i don't give a damn if it's

coming from one particular side or the other directed at one particular party or another

or one particular person or another it is not okay and it has to stop we have to be better than this

And we have a responsibility to all be better. Second, if this individual was trying to deter me from doing my job as your governor, rest assured I will find a way to work even harder than I was just yesterday for the good people of Pennsylvania

Here's a third truth. If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends

the Jewish community who joined us for a Passover Seder in that room last night

hear me on this. We celebrated our faith last night proudly, and in a few hours we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover again proudly

No one will deter me or my family or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly

I am grateful to the good people of Pennsylvania for giving me the honor to serve as their 48th governor

I will continue to pour every ounce of my being into this work

I'm going to do my best to be your governor, and right now to be a good husband and father to my family

who are obviously traumatized by what occurred here last night. We are grateful to law enforcement for helping ease some of that trauma thanks to their outstanding work

They were here within seconds. And they did an extraordinary job. Local, state, and federal law enforcement partners

I now want to bring up the Colonel of the Pennsylvania State Police to give you some specifics on the investigation

followed by our district attorney, Fran Chardo, and then we do our best to take a few questions Thank you Governor

I'd like to begin by saying, on behalf of not only the Pennsylvania State Police, but all of our partners, federal to municipal

that our hearts and prayers are with you and your family during this very trying 14-plus hours

I'd like to start off by preemptively offering that this is still very much very early in a very active and dynamic investigation

And I can tell you that we're pursuing any and all leads. We have processed the crime scene and released it just recently

You will see imminently how large and complex of a scene that it is

Physical evidence has been gathered and is in the process of being forensically yzed

both at the state police crime laboratories and also the Cumberland County Crime Laboratory

And I'd like to mention them specifically. As the governor stated, the work done by Harrisburg Fire Department was absolutely instrumental in preventing any loss of life last evening

To acknowledge again the Harrisburg police and the major case team that the state police was able to put together

So to pause for a moment, that was comprised of and remains comprised of the Harrisburg Police Department, the Capitol Police, our partners from the FBI

I received multiple calls from the FBI SAC of Philadelphia, who happens to be out of country, and yet he took the time to call as well as his assistant special agents in charge who are not only here with us, but we've spoken to throughout this incident

I received a call personally from the Attorney General with an offer of any and all support

Received a call personally from the U.S. Attorney acting for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, John Greganis, offering any and all support of the U.S. Attorney's Office

And as the Governor said, who you will hear from shortly, the Dauphin County District Attorney, Fran Chardo

So I can confirm at this point, as we put out already, we are conducting an arson investigation, and we are conducting an attempted homicide and aggravated arson investigation

That is the paradigm that we've operated in. A lot of the investigative tasks have focused on the who up until this point

Obviously, we're trying to piece together very early on the exact sequence of events

We were late in coming out here because we were getting rapid information as it was occurring

and I'm pleased to announce that we do have an individual in custody

His name is Cody Balmer, B-A-L-M-E-R, age 38, with a Harrisburg Post Office address

In terms of the sequence of events, because of the thrust of the investigation concentrating on the who, I want to be very deliberate in my comments as to the how and exactly the time frame

What I do feel confident in saying at this point is that we don't anticipate any charges for conspiracy

But again, I'd reiterate my qualifier that I mentioned earlier that we are still very much inside the first 24 hours

But at this point, we do not anticipate that. Likewise, the quick action of the members of the governor's detail, not only his immediate family, but some extended family members who were here

you will see from the physical plant behind me how grave the situation was

And when this occurred, I will tell you, again, the exact sequence of events

We will conduct a full review, but I feel very confident in telling you that it occurred over an extremely brief period of time, several minutes

And the quick action of those troopers last night immediately shifted to the safety of the governor and his family and his extended family

So we will certainly take a look and have a full, competent, and thorough investigation

But our hats are off to the quick action of all the first responders, not just within the state police

but as the governor said, Harrisburg Fire Department, who was instrumental in getting here quickly and getting the fire knocked down

We have kept tabs on the governor all day and will continue to do so

And at this point, I'd like to turn it over to District Attorney Franchardo. Thank you

We have, as the Colonel indicated, Cody Balmer is in custody

We are preparing a criminal complaint to charge him. This is not of record yet, but the charges will include attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault against an enumerated person

These are all very serious charges. As with any charges, the defendant is presumed innocent

We will file those charges within the next several hours, and we will include a probable cause affidavit which will detail the basis for this arrest

I can't give you a lot of details because it won't be of record

I can only give you the charges. but the criminal complaint and the affidavit will detail that further this very day

I want to commend the Pennsylvania State Police, the Capitol Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the other agencies that conducted this investigation

I was here this afternoon and witnessed the remarkable efforts. They did a great job in bringing this to a swift conclusion And I tell you that they do this in every case that I work with them on not just cases involving the governor in every case

We are blessed to have great law enforcement agencies that work diligently in cases involving serious violence

As I say, we're going to file that criminal complaint shortly, and you will have that complaint will speak for itself along with a – there will be a booking photograph that will be available later today

We don't have that yet available, and we're glad to take any questions you might have. Governor, I think everyone's – you and your family are okay

Thank you. I want to ask, when you're hearing those charges, though, knowing that someone tried to get the very least seriously injured or killed you and your family, are you reflecting today on that? Can you talk about your emotions there

Honestly, I just right now want to be a good father and a good husband and take care of my family

is there anything you can tell us right now about how Mr. Balmer

accessed the property and how he left the property well it's going to speak for itself

he entered it surreptitiously not far from here he came over a fence I will tell you that

and he was able to he acted very surreptitiously and then he

forcibly entered and then he set the fire. Do you know if he's going to face federal charges

So we have the FBI involved. There'll be a review of that by the U.S. Attorney. A decision

will be made. He may face both. They're separate sovereigns, and we're going to pursue

make a decision on that. It may be both, but we always look at it to

determine where we can get the best justice. What did Ballmer say about his

reasoning? I mean, you guys, he's in custody. What has he said? So I think that we'll let the probable cause of the defeat speak for itself

Mr. Governor, do you think that this could have been a hate crime or politically motivated

I think that's a question for the federal government or for the district attorney

It's not something I'm prepared to answer. Breaking the fence over there, the patch up, is that where he came in and was the fence damaged because of him

Yes, I will. I'll turn it over to Lieutenant Colonel Bivens at this point. That was the point of ingress

and as I said we will be conducting a multifaceted review in terms of security measures and the exact timeline of how it happened

but I do feel very confident in saying that certain steps of due diligence were taken by our people

and we are in their debt for getting the governor and his family immediate and extended out of the house

When you see the physical plant behind me it will be readily apparent how grave the situation was

How did this happen? One second. I'll turn it over to Lieutenant Colonel Bivin. Standby. Excuse me

Sorry. So this individual came over a fence right behind where all of you are standing right now

He actively evaded troopers who were here to secure the residence even while they were searching for him on the property

while they were searching is when he attacked at the residence, broke in, and set the fires

So that was all playing out over a period of several minutes. It was a very quick event that occurred, and again, troopers were actively searching for him at the time

What did he use to set the fire? He had some homemade incendiary devices

Molotov cocktail? I'm not going to provide a lot more detail on that right now

A lot of material has been collected and is being yzed, but I think, you know, homemade device describes it for right now

Did he always know he was on the property before he started to fire

We knew that there had been a breach on the property and we were searching to determine what the, what had occurred, why there was a breach

Will there be an increased security presence around the governor's mansion, and will the FBI remain on site

Talk a little bit about what's going to go on going on. So there is already a security review underway to determine how we can ensure that we don't have a repeat of a situation like this

You know, we look at all aspects, personnel, technical surveillance equipment, security equipment

All of that will be reviewed, and we will do our best to ensure that the governor and his family are safe in this residence

Did he make it into the residence itself, or was it something thrown through the window

He did make it into the residence. How did he get off the property, and where was he apprehended

He exited the property the same way he came on, back over the fence

He was apprehended in the Harrisburg area a short time ago. Governor, you talked about resilience, especially in light of Passover

You feel like being able to come back and say we're not going to stop. Celebrating this, especially in the light, motivation, whatever it was that happened here

do you think it's important to show not just Pennsylvania but the whole country you're not going to be fearful

I'm not fearful. I'm obviously emotional. I'm worried about my family. I want my kids to be okay

When we were in the state dining room last night, gathered with the community and family and friends

we told the story of Passover, and it's a story of going from bondage

from slavery, into freedom. I think it an important story both literally and figuratively to tell And I refuse to be trapped by the bondage that someone attempts to put on me by attacking us as they did here last night I refuse to let anyone

who had evil intentions like that stop me from doing the work that I love. Stop me from being

a leader of this Commonwealth and looking out for all Pennsylvanians. I will not be

deterred in my work and I will not be afraid to do that work

Governor, who all was in the house at the time and how is your family feeling right now

I'm not going to get into my family and who was in the house. I will tell you that

obviously, you know, when you get woken up at two o'clock in the morning with a banging on the door

from brave Pennsylvania State Police telling you you have to immediately evacuate

That's jarring, especially for children. They're doing okay now. They're all together

And as I said, shortly here, we're going to celebrate our second Seder together

We're going to have more family time. And I trust that Laura and I will make sure

our kids get through this well and listen to them, be there for their emotional needs

be there for their mental health support, our mental health support, and making sure that everybody is able to get through this and continue on with our lives

Me doing the important work I'm doing, my wife, our first lady doing the important work they're doing

and our kids being normal kids doing what they do. Governor, was there any question from a security standpoint

I'm sorry, I just didn't hear the beginning of your question. Governor, any question from a security standpoint

Any discussions about having you come back to the scene so soon? And was this something you wanted to do

I'm not going to get into my security. I have total confidence in the Pennsylvania State Police to keep us safe

As far as the suspect in custody goes, where are we at right now in terms of warrants for the residents

or speaking to family members associated with the suspect? How is that going to play out now that all the federal agencies are involved along with the state

So there are currently searches underway, some with consent, warrants where necessary

That will play out through the remainder of the evening, no doubt, and beyond if necessary

All of that information and evidence will be collected and worked through the district attorney's office

A decision at some point in the future, as the DA said, will be made whether there is anything that rises to the level of a separate federal prosecution

But for right now, we're operating all under state rules of evidence and procedures and collecting what we need for the state charges

We've got time for just a couple more questions here. Does the suspect seem like he knew the layout of the mansion area and, like, where he planted the home ages up by since wasn't very intentional

I don't know that we can yet fully characterize how much he knew

That's all part of the ongoing investigation in terms of the layout

I will tell you that he clearly had a plan. He was very methodical in his approach and moved through it without a lot of hurry

again in a very methodical planned manner and carried it out although in a very short period

of time when i said that he was in the residence he was inside for less less than a minute

it all happened very quickly and and he was back out how long was he on the property before that

that's all part of the investigation we do have an idea because we know when we were alerted to

the breach. It was a number of minutes, but again, all of that is part of the ongoing review

as to where he was and how that time was spent on the property

Let me just say one last thing, and we're going to wrap this up. Lori and I and the kids just feel

so honored to have the privilege the good people of Pennsylvania have given us to be able to live

in this house. This house functions as a welcoming place for Pennsylvanians to come

and to learn and to celebrate and to be together. And that is a direct result of the extraordinary work

that the staff does here at the governor's residence, led by Claire Ramsey

I want to just say they are traumatized by this as well

Lori and I spoke to them earlier today to let them know that they're part of our family

as we are theirs. Many of them have been here through multiple administrations

some as long as two decades, and we want them to know how much they are appreciated

If you've ever come here on a tour or you've been privileged to be here for an event

it's a wonderful member of the governor's resident staff who greets you, who cares for you

who feeds you, and who makes sure that you enjoy your visit

And I just want to say a special thanks to them. They're going through a lot right now

They know that Lori and I have their backs, and it's going to take some time for them to work through this as well

But I told them we'll clean this up. We'll get it repaired

We'll get it rebuilt. We'll get rid of that smell of fire and smoke

And we'll be back very soon. And we'll be back to welcome the community into this residence

with the smiles and the warmth of the people that make up this staff

So I want to thank all of you for your sensitivity here

For those who are celebrating Passover, I wish you a happy Passover. I know some are observing Palm Sunday

and getting ready for Easter. I want to wish you the very best as well

Well, thank you for for being here this afternoon