The suspect who set fire to Pennsylvania's Jewish Governor Josh Shapiro's residence was motivated by the governor's pro-Israel positions, ABC reported on Wednesday. The arson attack occurred late Sunday night, hours after a Passover Seder celebration and while Shapiro's family was inside the residence.
Court documents reveal that the suspect, 38-year-old Cody Balmer, committed the act "because of what he perceived as injustice toward the Palestinian people." Investigation findings show that less than an hour after the incident, Balmer called emergency services and told the dispatcher he "would not take part in Shapiro's plans regarding what he wants to do to Palestinians."
Though police have not officially released information about the motive, one of the search warrants stated that Balmer targeted Shapiro because of "injustices toward Palestinians."
Earlier this week, investigators revealed that Balmer admitted during questioning that "he harbors hatred toward Governor Shapiro," according to court documents. Balmer told investigators that if he had found Shapiro, he would have struck him with the hammer he was carrying.
According to court documents obtained by the New York Post, Balmer confessed to draining fuel from a lawnmower and filling two beer bottles with it to create improvised Molotov cocktails. The suspect walked approximately an hour from his home to the governor's mansion, scaled the perimeter iron fence, broke two windows using a hammer, and threw the firebombs inside.
The attack took place Sunday at 2 a.m. while Shapiro and his family were asleep in the residence. The governor and his family, along with another family staying at the house, were safely evacuated by state police, and no injuries were reported. Just hours before the attack, Shapiro had shared a photograph of his family's Passover Seder table on social media.
