Governor Josh Shapiro reacts to attempted murder, arsonist suspect pleading guilty

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM)– Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, alongside First Lady Lori Shapiro, made a statement on Tuesday after the suspect in the arson attack on the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg pleaded guilty.

Shapiro gave remarks Tuesday morning after Cody Balmer, 38, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including the attempted murder of the governor, after the April attack on the Governor’s Residence.

“I’ve carried with me this enormous sense of guilt,” Shapiro said. “Guilt that doing this job that I love so much has put our children’s lives at risk. Candidly, I don’t know that I’ve been able to give them the right answers. I don’t know that I’ve been able to ease our children’s worries but I can tell you that I’ve tried and it’s been an ongoing effort.”

Shapiro said that the incident has and will always remain with him and his family. He added that the hardest part of the aftermath of the attack has been trying to explain to his children why someone would attack their family.

He said that the security changes and upgrades have changed the lives of himself and his family, and that he is constantly trying to unsee the videos of Balmer breaking into what is supposed to be the safest place for him and his family.

Shapiro mentioned that political figures and leaders from around the world have reached out to him in the aftermath of the incident, and that while he had always known such things could happen in theory, the reality of it has forever impacted him and his family.

Balmer will spend 25 to 50 years incarcerated in a state prison.