Security review planned for Pennsylvania governor's official residence after arson attack

Dan Balmer said his brother had displayed concerning behavior, including the night before the fire, when he flipped over a table at the home where Cody Balmer lived with their parents.

Balmer appeared to have carefully planned the attack and was inside the residence for about a minute before escaping, police said.

A search warrant says he scaled a nearly 7-foot-high (2-meter-high) security fence, smashed a window with a hammer and tossed a lit beer bottle filled with gasoline into the piano room. Then, he broke a second window, climbed inside the state dining room and lit a second Molotov cocktail before kicking open a door and fleeing, the warrant says.

The fire caused significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests, including other relatives, to evacuate the building early Sunday. The residence, built in 1968, did not have sprinklers, and the damage could be in the millions of dollars, Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said.

Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children and another family had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover on Saturday night in the same room. They were awakened by state troopers pounding on their doors at about 2 a.m. Firefighters extinguished the fire and no one was injured.

Balmer said he had walked for an hour to reach the governor’s residence, and during a police interview ”admitted to harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro,” according to a police affidavit that did not expand on that point.