by Gillian McGoldirick, Ximena Conde and Anna Orso at The Philadelphia Inquirer
Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, walked an hour to the residence before scaling a fence and breaking into the residence. He evaded police and fled on foot, before turning himself in.
The Harrisburg man charged with the attempted homicide of Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family for setting three fires in the Pennsylvania governor’s residence this weekend turned himself in to state police on Sunday afternoon and admitted to “harboring a hatred” toward Shapiro, according to the criminal complaint.
Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, evaded police while on the property, breaking a window and throwing a Heineken beer bottle filled with gasoline into the piano room in a wing of the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg, according to the criminal complaint. He then went to the attached dining room, broke a window, entered the residence, and lit two more homemade “Molotov cocktails” before fleeing on foot, police said.
It’s unclear how state police, who have a 24/7 detail assigned to Shapiro and additional security at the governor’s residence, allowed Balmer to enter the property, start a fire, then break into the building and start two more fires before fleeing on foot without apprehension.
Balmer was taken to an area hospital “due to a medical event not connected to this incident nor his arrest,” police said Monday. Because of this, his arraignment was canceled and will be rescheduled.
According to the complaint,…
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