Pennsylvania governor’s residence set ablaze in ‘act of arson’, police say

Police say they evacuated Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and his family from the official gubernatorial residence after someone set fire to the building.

No one was injured.

The fire broke out overnight on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which Shapiro and his family had celebrated at the governor’s official residence in the state capital of Harrisburg. State police said in a statement that, while the investigation was ongoing, they were “prepared to say at this time that this was an act of arson”.

Police gave no other details about the cause.

In a statement, Shapiro, viewed as a potential White House contender for the Democratic party in 2028, said he and his family woke up at about 2am to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania state police after the fire broke out.

The Harrisburg bureau of fire was called to the residence and, while they worked to put out the fire, police evacuated Shapiro and his family from the residence safely, the governor said.

Authorities said the fire caused a “significant amount of damage” to a portion of the residence before the blaze was extinguished.

Shapiro and his family had been in a different part of the residence, police said.

State police said they were leading a multiagency investigation into the fire.