What we know about suspect in arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence

The attack

Balmer was caught on security cameras both within and outside the residence, officials said. He was seen wearing a black “snap-on” jacket, black boots and carrying a bag.

Video surveillance footage showed the suspect climbing over an exterior fence of Shapiro’s residence, approaching the piano room windows on the south side of the home and breaking an exterior window with a hammer, the criminal affidavit said. He then threw a Molotov cocktail inside through the broken glass. Shortly after, flames were seen in the interior of the home, the probable cause affidavit said.

Balmer then moved to an adjacent window, broke the glass and entered the home through the broken window, the affidavit said. Once inside, he deployed a second incendiary device in the dining room that spurred another fire.

The affidavit states that Balmer then moved toward the dining room exit. Surveillance footage showed him wearing two different colored gloves — one orange and one yellow. He was seen kicking the dining room door open and exiting the residence. He left the property in the same direction he entered, climbing back over the perimeter fence, running through a parking lot and then fleeing the residence in a southeast direction, the affidavit said.

Investigators found two broken glass beer bottles containing gasoline in the dining room of the residence.

Investigators also collected videos from privately owned security cameras and found that the suspect had fled east on Peffer Street. A sweep of Peffer Street led investigators to locate the gloves that matched the suspect’s in a trash can. The gloves had a “strong smell of gasoline emanating from them,” the criminal affidavit said. 

Shapiro, who is Jewish, had shared Passover well-wishes online Saturday evening just hours before the attack.

He condemned the attack in a Sunday press conference, saying, “This kind of violence is not OK … I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another, or one particular person or another. It is not OK and it has to stop.”

Turning himself in

Pennsylvania State Police in Harrisburg were contacted by a woman who said she was the ex-paramour of Balmer. She said Balmer confessed to the act and “wanted her to call police to turn him in,” the affidavit said. 

A short time later, Balmer approached a Pennsylvania State Police trooper at the department headquarters. He said he was “responsible” for the fire in the governor’s residence and “wished to turn himself in.” He was transported to the Pennsylvania State Police office in Harrisburg, where he was interviewed, the affidavit said. 

During the interview, he confessed his ill feelings toward Shapiro. 

He told investigators that he removed gasoline from a lawn mower and poured it into beer bottles he found at his home, then walked for an hour to the governor’s residence with the intention of throwing the homemade Molotov cocktails into the home. 

He admitted that he scaled the perimeter fence, broke two windows with a hammer and threw the Molotov cocktails inside. Balmer said after leaving the governor’s residence, he returned to his own home and removed the clothes he wore during the attack, the affidavit said.

Troopers responded to his home and seized the “snap-on” jacket, a black bag and a small sledgehammer, “which were identical to those observed in the surveillance at the Governor’s residence,” the affidavit said.

Balmer also told investigators that he was aware his actions would result in “negative consequences” and knew it was possible that Shapiro and others were home at the time and that they could have been harmed, according to the affidavit.

Balmer was transported to Dauphin County Prison for arraignment. According to his court docket, he is awaiting a preliminary hearing.

Pennsylvania state police said Monday that Balmer was transported to a hospital, and is receiving treatment “due to a medical event not connected to this incident or his arrest.” It’s not clear what caused him to be hospitalized. 

Suspect appeared to be critical of the government online

Balmer worked as a mechanic. Kindermans Auto Repair, an auto repair shop in Harrisburg, wrote on Facebook on Sunday that he was a former employee at the shop. 

Balmer’s social media presence suggests he held staunch anti-government views. He often posted memes urging people to “become ungovernable” and reposted an artwork of a Molotov cocktail in 2022 with the slogan “Be the light you want to see in the world.”

He posted negative content about then-President Joe Biden and seemed to reject Biden’s 2020 presidential win. He shared posts on Facebook criticizing Biden during his term, including a picture with the text “Joe Biden owes me 2 grand” and a post that said “Biden supporters shouldn’t exist.”

He also shared a meme in 2020 that argued that both Democrats and Republicans “would rather argue with other than work to solve the problems we are facing.”

Balmer has faced criminal charges before.

He previously pleaded guilty to forgery and theft in 2015 and again to forgery in 2016 in Pennsylvania, court records show. He was also charged with assault in 2023 in a case that is still open.