Pennsylvania police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are on the hunt for an arsonist who tried to set fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home while he and his family slept.
The Democratic governor, his wife, and four children were evacuated from the house by state police at 2 a.m., he said in a statement Sunday regarding the assassination attempt.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement that he was ready to provide resources “to find the culprit of this senseless act of violence.” Pennsylvania State Police are offering $10,000 for information on the arsonist.
The arson attempt left the governor’s official residence in Harrisburg visibly damaged Sunday morning. The case marked the first assassination attempt on a governor after the FBI arrested more than a dozen people for trying to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.
The FBI told the Daily Beast it was assisting the state police in its investigation.
Shapiro, who is Jewish, had just celebrated the first night of Passover with a seder, he posted on X on Saturday.
Shapiro said in an X post that he and his family were woken up and evacuated around 2 a.m. by Pennsylvania State Police as the fire spread through the Governor’s Mansion in Harrisburg. No one was hurt, and the fire was extinguished, he said.
“Every day, we stand with the law enforcement and first responders who run towards danger to protect our communities,” he said. “Last night, they did so for our family – and Lori and I are eternally grateful to them for keeping us safe."
Pennsylvania State Police said the fire caused “a significant amount of damage” to part of the governor’s mansion, though Shapiro and his family were in another part of the home.
“While the investigation is ongoing, the State Police is prepared to say at this time that this was an act of arson,” it said in a statement.
The state police were investigating the incident on Sunday as part of a “multi-agency” effort, it said.
Pennsylvania State Police did not provide any additional information when reached by The Daily Beast, though a spokesperson said it was working with its “state, federal, and local partners.”
Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, said he was grateful the governor and his family were safe.
“We commend Pennsylvania’s first responders and law enforcement officers for their swift actions in keeping everyone safe and containing the situation,” he wrote on X. “There is no room in America or our Commonwealth for lawlessness, violence, and hatred, and such acts must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Lt. Governor Austin Davis also expressed his relief in a statement and vowed to find the arsonist. “I’m confident the State Police will get to the bottom of who perpetrated this crime,” he wrote on X. “I won’t speculate on motivations, but I will say that targeting elected officials and their family members with violence is never acceptable. These sorts of acts deter good people from pursuing public service at a time when we desperately need more Americans to participate in our democracy.”
The attempt to kill a governor and his family is the latest in an epidemic of political violence to hit the nation. President Donald Trump survived two assassination attempts last year, including a shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. The FBI also foiled a plot in 2020 to kidnap Whitmer, a Democrat, and overthrow the Michigan state government over her COVID-19 restrictions in 2020.
