- 4/14/2025
Gov. Josh Shapiro on arson attempt
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon. Last night at approximately two o'clock in the morning, while my family
00:11and I were asleep upstairs here at the governor's residence, one of the state troopers assigned
00:17to our detail banged on our door, woke us up and told us we had an emergency and needed
00:25to leave immediately. Together, we secured all of our children, our two dogs, our family
00:33that was staying with us, and the troopers safely evacuated us from the governor's residence.
00:43Last night, we experienced an attack not just on our family, but on the entire Commonwealth
00:49of Pennsylvania here at the governor's residence.
00:53I want to thank the Pennsylvania State Police for safely evacuating our family, for their
01:01bravery last evening, and for their careful leadership of this investigation. I want to
01:08thank Harrisburg Fire, their chief who was personally on the scene and spent time with me and my
01:15family last night. He and the other firefighters from Harrisburg ran toward danger to help keep
01:25us safe and quickly putting out the fire. I want to thank the Capitol Police for assisting
01:34the Pennsylvania State Police last night in ensuring everything was orderly.
01:41I want to thank the FBI and our federal partners for their assistance. I spoke a couple hours ago
01:49with Director Cash Patel of the FBI. He promised all of the resources of the federal government. He was
01:56extremely kind and courteous and thoughtful in his conversation with me. And I thanked him
02:03and the women and men of the FBI and the President of the United States for their support.
02:09I especially want to thank your local district attorney, Fran Chartow. 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.
02:23a few moments. Lori and I are
02:37Lori and I are overwhelmed by the prayers
02:45and the messages of support that we've received from all across Pennsylvania and all across the United States.
02:52We've heard from our fellow governors and first spouses. We've heard from several of the former governors of Pennsylvania.
03:00We've heard from so many friends and loved ones. And we've heard from so many caring citizens of this great Commonwealth.
03:08I 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.
03:20We appreciate the light that you have shined upon us.
03:24Pennsylvania State Police led by Colonel Christopher Paris will brief on the specifics of what transpired.
03:32But we do know that this attack was targeted.
03:36We don't know the person's specific motive yet.
03:40But we do know a few truths.
03:42First, this type of violence is not okay.
03:48This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society.
03:56And I don't give a damn if it's coming from one particular side or the other.
04:04Directed at one particular party or another or one particular person or another.
04:10It is not okay.
04:12And it has to stop.
04:16We have to be better than this.
04:18And we have a responsibility to all be better.
04:22Second, 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.
04:40Than I was just yesterday for the good people of Pennsylvania.
04:46Here's a third truth.
04:50If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community who joined us for a Passover Seder in that room last night.
05:06Hear me on this.
05:10We celebrated our faith last night proudly and in a few hours we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover again proudly.
05:22No one will deter me or my family or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly.
05:32I am grateful to the good people of Pennsylvania for giving me the honor to serve as their 48th governor.
05:46I will continue to pour every ounce of my being into this work.
05:52I'm going to do my best to be your governor.
05:56And right now to be a good husband and father to my family who are obviously traumatized by what occurred here last night.
06:06We are grateful to law enforcement for helping ease some of that trauma.
06:12Thanks to their outstanding work.
06:14They were here within seconds.
06:18And they did an extraordinary job local state and federal law enforcement partners.
06:26I now want to bring up the Colonel of the Pennsylvania State Police.
06:32To give you some specifics on the investigation.
06:36Followed by our District Attorney, Fran Chardo.
06:39And then we'll do our best to take a few questions.
06:43Thank you, Governor.
06:49I'd like to begin by saying on behalf of not only the Pennsylvania State Police, but all of our partners.
06:55Federal to municipal that our hearts and prayers are with you and your family during this very trying 14 plus hours.
07:08I'd like to start off by preemptively offering that this is still very much very early in a very active and dynamic investigation.
07:17And I can tell you that we're pursuing any and all leads.
07:20We have processed the crime scene and released it just recently.
07:25You will see imminently how large and complex of a scene that it is.
07:30Physical evidence has been gathered and is in the process of being forensically analyzed.
07:36Both at the state police crime laboratories and also the Cumberland County crime laboratory.
07:41And I'd like to mention them specifically.
07:46As the governor stated, the work done by Harrisburg Fire Department was absolutely instrumental in preventing any loss of life last evening.
07:58To acknowledge again the Harrisburg police and the major case team that the state police was able to put together.
08:04So 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.
08:13I received multiple calls from the FBI SAC of Philadelphia, who happens to be out of country.
08:19And 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.
08:28I received a call personally from the Attorney General with an offer of any and all support.
08:33Received a call personally from the U.S. Attorney acting for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, John Graganis, offering any and all support of the U.S. Attorney's Office.
08:43And as the governor said, who you will hear from shortly, the Dauphin County District Attorney, Fran Chardo.
08:50So I can confirm at this point, as we put out already, we are conducting an arson investigation and we're conducting an attempted homicide and aggravated arson investigation.
09:01That is the paradigm that we've operated in.
09:04A lot of the investigative tasks have focused on the who up until this point.
09:11Obviously, we're trying to piece together very early on the exact sequence of events.
09:16We were late in coming out here because we were getting rapid information as it was occurring.
09:22And I'm pleased to announce that we do have an individual in custody.
09:27His name is Cody Balmer, B-A-L-M-E-R, age 38, with the Harrisburg Post Office address.
09:39In 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 timeframe.
09:52What I do feel confident in saying at this point is that we don't anticipate any charges for conspiracy.
10:00But again, I'd reiterate my qualifier that I mentioned earlier that we are still very much inside the first 24 hours.
10:07But at this point, we do not anticipate that.
10:10Likewise, 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.
10:26And when this occurred, I will tell you again the exact sequence of events.
10:31We 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.
10:40And the quick action of those troopers last night immediately shifted to the safety of the governor and his family and his extended family.
10:47So we will certainly take a look and have a full competent and thorough investigation.
10:54But 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.
11:04We have kept tabs on the governor all day and will continue to do so.
11:10And at this point, I'd like to turn it over to District Attorney Franchardo.
11:15We have as the Colonel indicated, Cody bomber is in custody.
11:29We are preparing a criminal complaint to charge him.
11:32This is not a record yet, but the charges will include attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault against an enumerated person.
11:44These are all very serious charges.
11:46As with any charges, the defendant is presumed innocent.
11:51We 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.
12:02I can't give you a lot of details because it won't be of record.
12:07I can only give you the charges, but the criminal complaint and the affidavit will detail that further this very day.
12:16I want to commend the Pennsylvania State Police, the Capitol Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the other agencies that conducted this investigation.
12:25I was here this afternoon and witnessed the remarkable efforts.
12:30They did a great job in bringing this to a swift conclusion.
12:34And I'll tell you that they do this in every case that I worked with them on, not just cases involving the governor.
12:43In every case, we are blessed to have great law enforcement agencies that work diligently in cases involving serious violence.
12:52As 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'll be a booking photograph that will be available later today.
13:04But we don't have that yet available and we're glad to take any questions you might have.
13:11Governor, I think everyone's team of you and your family are okay.
13:17I want to ask, when you're hearing those charges, though, knowing that someone tried to do the very least seriously injured or killed you and your family, are you, you know, reflecting today on that?
13:26Can you talk about your emotions there?
13:30Honestly, I just right now want to be a good father and a good husband and take care of my family.
13:40Mr. Attorney, is there anything you can tell us right now about how Mr. Ballmer accessed the property and how he left the property?
13:48Well, it's going to speak for itself.
13:49I mean, he he he entered it surreptitiously and not far from here.
13:54He came over a fence.
13:55I will tell you that.
13:56And he was able to he acted very surreptitiously and and then he he forcibly entered and then he set the fire.
14:09Do you know if he's going to face federal charges?
14:11Well, so we have the FBI involved.
14:13There'll be a review of that by by the U.S. attorney.
14:16A decision will be made.
14:17He may face both.
14:18They're separate sovereigns.
14:19And we're going to pursue make a decision on that.
14:23And maybe it may be both.
14:24But we always look at to determine where we can get the best justice.
14:28What did Ballmer say about his reasoning?
14:31I mean, you guys, he's in custody.
14:33What does he say?
14:34So I think that we'll let the probable cause effort if it speak for that for itself.
14:38Mr. Governor, do you think that this could have been a hate crime or politically motivated?
14:42I think that's a question for the federal government or for the district attorney.
14:48It's not something I'm prepared to answer.
14:49Yeah.
14:50Breaking the fence over there, the patch up.
14:52Is that where he came in and was the fence damaged because of him?
14:57Yes, I will.
14:58I'll turn it over to Lieutenant Colonel Bivens at this point.
15:01That was the point of of ingress.
15:03And as I said, we will be conducting a multifaceted review in terms of security measures and the exact timeline of how it happened.
15:12But I do feel very confident in saying that certain steps of due diligence were taken by our people.
15:18And, you know, we are in their debt for getting the governor and his family immediate and extended out of the house.
15:27When you see the physical plant behind me, it will be readily apparent how grave the situation was.
15:32How did it happen?
15:33One second.
15:34I'll turn it over to Lieutenant Colonel Bivens at this point.
15:39Excuse me.
15:40Sorry.
15:41So this individual came over a fence right behind where all of you are standing right now.
15:46He actively evaded troopers who were here to secure the residence even while they were searching for him on the property.
15:56While they were searching is when he attacked at the residence, broke in and set the fires.
16:03So that was all playing out over a period of several minutes.
16:07It was a very quick event that occurred.
16:10And again, troopers were actively searching for him at the time.
16:14What did he use to start the fire?
16:16He had some homemade incendiary devices.
16:19Molotov cocktail?
16:21I'm not going to provide a lot more detail on that right now.
16:25A lot of material has been collected and is being analyzed, but I think, you know, a homemade device describes it for right now.
16:33Do you think we didn't know he was on the property before he started the fire?
16:37We knew that there had been a breach on the property and we were searching to determine what had occurred, why there was a breach.
16:46Will there be an increased security presence around the governor's mansion and will the FBI remain on site?
16:51Can you talk a little bit about what's going to go on?
16:53So there will 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.
17:03You know, we look at all aspects personnel, technical surveillance equipment, security equipment.
17:11All of that will be reviewed and we will do our best to ensure that the governor and his family are safe in this residence.
17:20Did he make it into the residence itself or was something thrown through the window?
17:25He did make it into the residence.
17:27And then how did he get off the property and where was he apprehended?
17:30He exited the property the same way he came on, back over the fence.
17:35He was apprehended in the Harrisburg area a short time ago.
17:40Governor, you talked about resilience, especially in light of Passover.
17:45You feel like being able to come back and say we're not going to stop celebrating this, especially in the light of motivation, whatever it was that happened here.
17:55Do you think it's important to show not just Pennsylvania, but the whole country?
17:58You're not going to be fearful.
18:00I'm not fearful.
18:01I'm obviously emotional.
18:03I'm worried about my family.
18:04I want my kids to be okay.
18:06When we were in the state dining room last night, gathered with the community and family and friends, we told the story of Passover.
18:16And it's a story of going from bondage, from slavery into freedom.
18:23I think it's an important story, both literally and figuratively, to tell.
18:29And I refuse to be trapped by the bondage that someone attempts to put on me by attacking us as they did here last night.
18:40I 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.
18:53I will not be deterred in my work and I will not be afraid to do that work.
18:59Governor, who was in the house at the time and how is your family feeling right now?
19:06I'm not going to get into my family and who was in the house.
19:09I 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.
19:20That's jarring, especially for children.
19:22They're doing okay now.
19:25They're all together.
19:26And as I said, shortly here, we're going to celebrate our second Seder together.
19:31We're going to have more family time.
19:33And I trust that Laura and I will make sure our kids get through this well and listen to them.
19:39Be there for their emotional needs.
19:41Be 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.
19:51Me 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.
20:00Governor, was there any question from a security standpoint?
20:02Any discussion?
20:03I'm sorry, I just didn't hear the beginning of your question.
20:04Governor, any question from a security standpoint?
20:06Any discussions about having you come back to the scene so soon?
20:09And was this something you wanted to do?
20:10I'm not going to get into my security.
20:12I have total confidence in the Pennsylvania State Police to keep us safe.
20:15As 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?
20:26How is that going to play out now that all the federal agencies are involved along with the state?
20:33So there are currently searches underway, some with consent, warrants where necessary.
20:39That will play out through the remainder of the evening, no doubt, and beyond if necessary.
20:45All of that information and evidence will be collected and worked through the district attorney's office.
20:51A 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.
21:00But for right now, we're operating all under state rules of evidence and procedures and collecting what we need for the state charges.
21:12We've got time for just a couple more questions here.
21:14Does the suspect seem like he knew the layout of the mansion area and like where he planted the home ages up by since was very intentional?
21:25I don't know that we can yet fully characterize how much he knew.
21:30That's all part of the ongoing investigation in terms of the layout.
21:34I will tell you that he clearly had a plan.
21:38He was very methodical in his approach and moved through it without a lot of hurry.
21:47Again, in a very methodical planned manner and carried it out, although in a very short period of time.
21:55When I said that he was in the residence, he was inside for less than a minute.
21:59It all happened very quickly and he was back out.
22:04How long was he on the property before that?
22:06That's all part of the investigation.
22:09We do have an idea because we know when we were alerted to the breach, it was a number of minutes.
22:14But again, all of that is part of the ongoing review as to where he was and how that time was spent on the property.
22:23Let me just say one last thing and we're going to wrap this up.
22:27Lori 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.
22:35This house functions as a welcoming place for Pennsylvanians to come and to learn and to celebrate and to be together.
22:46And that is a direct result of the extraordinary work that the staff does here at the governor's residence led by Claire Ramsey.
22:55I want to just say they are traumatized by this as well.
22:59Lori and I spoke to them earlier today to let them know that they're part of our family as we are theirs.
23:06Many of them have been here through multiple administrations, some as long as two decades.
23:12And we want them to know how much they are appreciated.
23:16If you've ever come here on a tour or you've been privileged to be here for an event,
23:21it's a wonderful member of the governor's residence staff who greets you, cares for you, who feeds you and who makes sure that you enjoy your visit.
23:30And I just want to say a special thanks to them. They're going through a lot right now.
23:34They know that Lori and I have their backs and it's going to take some time for them to work through this as well.
23:40But I told them we'll clean this up. We'll get it repaired. We'll get it rebuilt.
23:46We'll get rid of that smell of fire and smoke and we'll be back very soon.
23:52And we'll be back to welcome the community into this residence with the smiles and the warmth of the people that make up this step.
23:59So I want to thank all of you for your sensitivity here.
24:04For those who are celebrating Passover, I wish you a happy Passover.
24:08I know some are observing Palm Sunday and getting ready for Easter.
24:11I want to wish you the very best as well.
24:13I want to thank you for being here this afternoon.
24:16Thank you guys.
24:29We can show you back if once we took our first appearance out.
24:47I can show you back once we took our first appearance out.
25:17I can show you back once we took our first appearance out.
25:47I can show you back once we took our first appearance out.
26:17I can show you back once we took our first appearance out.