A little more than six months after the arson attack occurred at his residence, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro reacted to the suspect pleading guilty to the charges.
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The terrifying incident occurred in the early hours of April 13, while the governor and his family were sleeping in the residence. The suspect, identified as Cody Balmer, managed to scale the property’s fence and broke in. He then used Molotov cocktails to set the fire.
Thankfully, Governor Shapiro and his family were safely evacuated from the residence and were not harmed in the attack. Balmer was later arrested and charged with terrorism, attempted murder, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault.
The suspect admitted that he had planned to assault the governor physically, using a small sledgehammer, had he encountered him in the attack.
On Tuesday, Balmer pleaded guilty to charges for aggravated arson, arson, and the attempted murder of Governor Shapiro. He was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.
Following Balmer’s plea, Governor Shapiro spoke to reporters about the suspect’s decision.
“It’s hard for me to stand before you today and utter the words ‘attempted murder’ when it’s your own life,” Shapiro stated. “To know that someone tried to kill me. It’s especially hard to know that he tried to burn our family to death while we slept.”
The politician further shared, “The hardest part has been trying to explain it to our four children and to our nieces and nephews. I’ve carried with me this enormous sense of guilt – guilt that doing this job that I love so much has put our children’s lives at risk. It’s been really hard.”
Governor Shapiro Says His Family Is Working Through Everything Following the Arson Attack
While continuing to speak about the situation, Governor Shapiro said his family is still working through everything following the arson attack.
“This is an ongoing thing that we are dealing with,” he explained. “I think we’re confident that it’ll get better. But we also know it’s going to always be with us.”
Balmer, who is 38 years old, will be first eligible for parole when he is 63. Speaking about the suspect’s sentence, Shapiro said, “This is just outcome.”
He then called the sentencing “closure of this chapter.”