Josh Shapiro's Firebombed House Revealed in New Inside Pics
New photos have been released capturing the horrific aftermath of a suspected arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's home.
In a social media post Sunday, the Democratic governor announced that he and his family were woken up in their home at 2 a.m. by police alerting them that a fire had been set ablaze to the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Shapiro and his family were able to evacuate safely and the fire was successfully extinguished.
A 38-year-old suspect, identified as Cody Balmer, has been taken into custody, officials announced in a news conference Sunday afternoon. Balmer is expected to be charged with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault against an enumerated person.
Photos published by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's website show the stark damage done to the property which was left destroyed and ashen following the incident. Shapiro said Sunday that the fire was lit in a room where he and his friends and family celebrated Passover Seder the night prior.
The newly released photos show the charred remains of the family's celebrations just hours earlier.
Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement Sunday morning that the fire had left a 'significant amount of damage' to part of the residence. They also added that it was 'an act of arson.'
Authorities allege that Balmer hopped over a fence to forcibly enter the residence. They further claimed that he had homemade incendiary devices, with police deputy commissioner George Bivens saying that the attack seemed to have been meticulously planned.
'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,' Shapiro said in a news conference Sunday. 'Again, proudly, no one will deter me or my family, or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly.'
'This type of violence is not OK,' he continued. 'This kind of violence has become far too common in our society. And I don't give a damn if it's coming from one side or the other … It is not OK and it has to stop. We have to be better than this.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Boulder Jewish Festival draws statewide support after attack
BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — Thousands gathered at Boulder's Pearl Street Mall for the first time since last Sunday's terror attack that injured 15 people, including a Holocaust survivor. Forty-five-year-old Egyptian national Mohamed Soliman faces federal hate crime charges in the attack. Naor Bitton intervened when the suspect was seen throwing firebombs into a crowd at the Walk For Their Lives rally to call for the return of hostages in Gaza. Family on Pearl Street during terror attack returns 1 week later for Boulder Jewish Festival 'I was lucky enough to be able to help, helped put the flames out, helped create distance between the people and the attacker,' Bitton told FOX31. On Sunday, a week later, he stood on the same block, this time joining a strong coalition. 'Our strength is in unity and we are always driving towards peace,' he said. Buses carrying supporters from metro Denver, Colorado Springs, Vail and other locations arrived at the festival over the weekend. 'Jewish people, non-Jewish people, we saw here Christians, we saw here Muslims; came from all around just to be with the Jewish people and to show us that we're not alone and terror has no place not in Boulder, not in Colorado hopefully not in the world; it was just beautiful,' Bitton said. Visitors saw a strong police presence during the festival. Security increased at Boulder Jewish Festival in light of attack 'I think we needed that today because it's so recent,' said one visitor, referring to the attack. Musician Jay Gindi tells FOX31 the high turnout of festival visitors sends the right message. 'The biggest thing is not letting the terror win,' he said. Others attending the event say that national and international attention now focused on Boulder provides an opportunity to bring people together. 'This should not be a political discussion; we have a community member that was burned by a terrorist. This is a terrible, terrible thing and as a whole, we should always get together, support, come together and show love,' said Jared Jacharowicz. Soliman appeared in federal court on Friday, his next court appearance is scheduled for June 18. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
38 minutes ago
- USA Today
Former Biden press secretary is ready to tell Americans the truth? Give me a break.
Former Biden press secretary is ready to tell Americans the truth? Give me a break. | Opinion The knives are now out inside the Democratic Party. And the party is bleeding, not only Americans' support and trust but also its last remaining drops of honesty and truth. Show Caption Hide Caption Karine Jean-Pierre talks exit from Democratic party in new book Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre talks about leaving the Democratic party in her upcoming book slated for release in October. The Democratic Party continues to self-destruct, and I am here for it. Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has teased a tell-all memoir about former President Joe Biden and the administration she served for nearly three years. 'Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines' is stoking claims that Jean-Pierre is a grifter, profiting off her time in the administration by trashing the former president and the political party that gave her prominence. Knives are out among Democrats for one of their own who has now betrayed them. Like other books that have recently exposed details about Biden's poor health, Jean-Pierre's book raises questions about the White House cover-up that attempted to hide the president's mental and physical decline from voters. It also calls into question Jean-Pierre's honesty: Why did she wait until now, when she can profit from it, to tell the truth about the former commander in chief? Former White House colleagues turn on former Biden press secretary Democrats are now a minority party in America. The GOP controls the White House, the Senate and the U.S. House along with a majority of governor's offices and state legislatures. The Democratic Party has lost Americans' trust because of its leaders' penchant for gaslighting, not just about Biden's health but also on issues like immigration, border security and the economy. Jean-Pierre, who now claims to be an independent, certainly isn't helping her former colleagues rebuild that lost trust. Details from the book are still sketchy, but Jean-Pierre should provide readers with an inside look at what happened after Biden's disastrous debate with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump a year ago this month. Jean-Pierre's coworkers have already reacted to the book with contempt. "Former colleagues expressed confusion at how Jean-Pierre seemingly intends to paint Biden as a victim while pinning her own decision to leave the party on his 'broken' White House," Politico reported, citing multiple former Biden administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Opinion: Biden's cancer diagnosis raises the question: Was he ever in good enough health? Caitlin Legacki, a Democratic strategist who worked on the Commerce Department's communications team during Biden's presidency, took umbrage with Jean-Pierre's assertion that the Democratic Party betrayed Biden. 'Kamala Harris and the entire Biden/Harris campaign did hero's work to avoid losing 400 electoral votes and giving Republicans a supermajority in Congress, which is what would have happened if he stayed on the ticket,' Legacki told Politico. 'It's more productive to focus on that, and thank Biden for doing the responsible thing by stepping aside, than it is to pretend this was an unwarranted act of betrayal.' But party insiders continuing to squabble over whether a now former president was or was not betrayed by fellow Democrats entirely misses the larger point. Opinion: Guess who Americans want to run the economy? Hint − it's not Democrats. Far too many Democrats, Jean-Pierre included, worked hard to deceive Americans. Their willful lack of self-awareness about their gaslighting and dishonesty is why the party has shown no signs of recovering from the last disastrous election cycle. Karine Jean-Pierre's book about Biden isn't the first Jean-Pierre's book will be far from the first to address the deception at the heart of the Biden White House. On May 20, journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson released "Original Sin," which describes in detail Biden's cognitive decline and the mind-boggling efforts with which his inner circle and the Democratic Party tried to hide the truth from Americans. Opinion: Texas woman's death would have been prevented if Biden had secured the border Conservatives had long been suspicious about Biden's health, but journalists with White House access failed to ask tough questions then. Now that it's too late to make a real difference, those who were silent when it mattered most are more than ready to profit from belated exposés about the former president's failing health. The knives are now out inside the Democratic Party. And the party is bleeding, not only Americans' support and trust but also its last remaining drops of honesty and truth. Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
US States Seek To Ban Chinese Citizens From Buying Land, Property
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Some U.S. states are attempting to ban Chinese citizens from buying land and property, amid souring diplomatic relations between the countries. By 2024, more than two thirds of states had enacted or considered laws limiting or barring foreign land ownership including states that specifically mention China by name, according to POLITICO. According to the non-profit membership organization the Committee of 100, in total 27 states have considered this kind of legislation. However, the group has not shared a list of those states. Newsweek has rounded up a non-exhaustive list of states that have been involved in this kind of legislation, based on publicly available information. Some states do not name China explicitly, but name foreign nations that would likely include China. A number of US stakes have advanced legislation to ban some land sales by foreign nationals and so-called "foreign adversaries." A number of US stakes have advanced legislation to ban some land sales by foreign nationals and so-called "foreign adversaries." Flourish Why It Matters There has been a wave of concern over Chinese land purchases in the United States, some of which have taken place close to military bases. This comes amid soaring tensions between the U.S. and China including trade clashes between the two giants and national security concerns. However, as of USDA data accurate to 2023, Chinese investors own land in the U.S. equivalent to roughly twice the size of the footprint of New York City. What To Know A number of states have considered legislation on the issue. In May, the Texas legislature passed a bill to ban people tied to the governments of China, North Korea, Russia and Iran from purchasing land in the state. In January, Republican senators in Arkansas introduced the Not One More Inch or Acre Act which would prohibit any Chinese citizen, entity or foreign person acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from purchasing public or private real estate in the U.S. On Tuesday, Arizona's Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill to prevent the People's Republic of China from buying a 30 percent stake or more in land near military bases and other strategic assets. Meanwhile, Florida passed a bill to prohibit citizens from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria from owning agricultural land or property near military sites in 2023. Similar legislation has been passed in South Dakota, North Dakota, Indiana, Nebraska, Virginia, Utah, Iowa, West Virginia and Montana. Other states are considering legislation or bills regarding foreign nations' ability to purchase land including Ohio, Michigan and Georgia. What People Are Saying Speaking to Newsweek, Michael McFaul, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, said: "Not every Chinese citizen is an agent of the Communist Party of China. Many of China's most successful entrepreneurs, engineers, and academics—especially those living and working in the United States—loathe the Chinese Communist Party. U.S. government officials must develop more sophisticated policies for decreasing the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the United States that do not treat all Chinese citizens as enemies of America." Cole Hefner, a Texas Republican state representative, said of Texas' bill: "Senate Bill 17 will counter this threat and make Texas a leader in state security. We cannot, we will not, allow oppressive regimes who actively seek to do harm to cease control and dictate their terms over our economy, our supply chains, our daily lives, our critical infrastructure for our food supply." Advocacy group Asian Texans for Justice opposed the Texas bill, saying it revives "a shameful chapter in American history—when Asian immigrants were banned from owning land." What Happens Next Texas' bill will now go to the state's governor, who has indicated he will support it. The success of other bills as well as whether other states will advance legislation pertaining to the issue remains to be seen.
