Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were forced to evacuate the governor’s mansion overnight after an arsonist set the residence on fire while they were asleep, the governor announced.
The fire erupted just hours after Shapiro shared a photo of his family celebrating the first night of Passover on Saturday, according to ABC 27.
The New York Post added: “The arson attack remains under active investigation, police said.”
“Last night at about 2AM, my family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg,” Shapiro wrote on the X platform.
“The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene and while they worked to put out the fire, we were evacuated from the Residence safely by Pennsylvania State Police and assisted by Capitol Police. Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished,” he added.
The fire was determined to be an “act of arson” and caused a “significant amount of damage” to the governor’s residence, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Fortunately, Governor Shapiro and his family were sleeping in a different section of the home, away from where the fire broke out, authorities said.
The high-profile Democratic governor is widely viewed as a leading contender for the White House in 2028 and was seriously considered as Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election.
Investigators are offering a $10,000 reward for tips that lead to the arrest of a suspect, The Post added.
In November, Shapiro distanced himself from President Biden’s controversial comments calling Trump supporters “garbage” during a CNN interview on Wednesday.
“I had not heard that until now, Kaitlan, so I’m kind of giving you my fresh reaction to it,” Shapiro reacted to CNN host Kaitlan Collins playing the clip of Biden’s comments on Tuesday night.
“I would never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any Americans even if they chose to support a candidate that I didn’t support,” Shapiro added.
When asked whether Biden should clarify his comment, Shapiro hedged and instead replied, “Well, I think President Biden will decide what he wants to say. It’s certainly not words that I would choose, and I think it’s important that we remain focused on the contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and not attacking supporters of either candidate.”
Biden did attempt to clarify his comments on social media.
“Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it,” Biden wrote on X. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
Biden’s comments were made during a virtual campaign call for Harris with Voto Latino. He criticized former President Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, which drew attention after insult comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made jokes mocking various ethnic groups, including one that referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said on the call. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it is un-American.”
Hinchcliffe was not demonizing Latinos, and in fact, several Hispanic Americans including those from Puerto Rico took to social media to say they were not offended by the joke and reveal that the island, in fact, has had a major problem with trash for years — hence, the origin of Hinchcliffe’s joke.