Yikes: PA Gov. Josh Shapiro's Home Set on Fire by Arsonist While He and Family Slept

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro described on X how he and his family were woken up at 2 a.m. Sunday morning at the official residence in Harrisburg by the Pennsylvania State Police pounding on his door after an arsonist set fire to the mansion.

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.

The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene and while they worked to put out the fire, we were…
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) April 13, 2025

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.

Every day, we stand with the law enforcement and first responders who run towards danger to protect our communities. Last night, they did so for our family – and Lori and I are eternally grateful to them for keeping us safe.
@PAStatePolice is on the scene leading this investigation and will keep the public updated.

The Pennsylvania State Police are calling it "arson" and said there was significant damage to the residence. Police said fortunately the family was located in another part of the home away from the fire so they were evacuated and safe. I'm not sure what was going on with the fire alarms that the police had to wake them up and how someone was able to get that close to the house, but that's concerning, as is the whole incident.

News: Gov. Josh Shapiro says an arsonist set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion early Sunday morning.

There’s visible damage on at least one side of the building. pic.twitter.com/gtLChIHDzJ
— Justin Sweitzer (@justin_sweitzer) April 13, 2025

The police and multiple agencies are now investigating it now so we'll have to see who was behind this, but it should be condemned. Investigators are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

Some also expressed concern that this happened on the first night of Passover. Shapiro had posted about his family's Passover dinner a few hours before the fire.

From the Shapiro family's Seder table to yours, happy Passover and Chag Pesach Sameach! pic.twitter.com/2II1Id1W23
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) April 12, 2025

We don't know yet who was behind it, so we don't know anything about motivations yet. I'm not going to speculate on that. I wondering if there are cameras, though, as there often are at such residences, and if they were able to pick up whoever it was if there were.

Shapiro is known beyond Pennsylvania after being considered to be a running mate for Kamala Harris during her failed 2024 presidential campaign. She infamously ended up picking Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz instead. Shapiro is also being talked about for 2028, along with a slew of other possible candidates including Kamala and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The Harrisburg residence is a huge 29,000 square feet that's housed several prior governors. It also has art exhibits and other Pennsylvania memorabilia on the first floor.

Progressive zealots are increasingly resorting to violence and terrorism because they failed at the ballot box.

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