Gov. Josh Shapiro hosts first event at the governor’s mansion following arson attack: ‘I’m not going to live in fear’
It was the first event at the governor’s residence since the April 13 arson attack. “I’m not going to live in fear,” he said.
HARRISBURG — The charred windows had been boarded up and the glass scattered around the property swept away. The grounds of the Pennsylvania governor’s residence were open to the public again.
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday hosted the state’s annual Easter egg hunt, the first event at the governor’s residence since a 38-year-old man who police said was “harboring a hatred” for Shapiro allegedly tried to burn it down in the early morning hours of April 13, as Shapiro and his family slept upstairs.
» READ MORE: The arson at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion erupted within minutes. The impact lingers.
Replacing the wreckage, the backyard of the governor’s mansion was filled with giggling preschoolers, a baby goat petting zoo, and hundreds of candy-filled Easter eggs.
Shapiro said that putting on Tuesday’s Easter egg hunt — an event hosted by the governor, the lieutenant governor, and their spouses — was important to the leaders, even with the presence of workers clearing wreckage from the mansion following the water and fire damage there.
“To see the smiles on these kids’ faces just brings such joy after obviously a really emotional week,” Shapiro told reporters after dozens of preschoolers gathered the candy-filled eggs on a warm spring day. During the event, he called to increase state funding for childcare programs by $55 million, to give $1,000 signing and retention bonuses for childcare workers — and to begin returning to his regular routine of staying at the residence in Pennsylvania’s capital several nights of the week, following the harrowing attack.
And more than a week later, signs of the attack remained at the stately Harrisburg home.
While the children raced around the residence’s back lawn for eggs filled with Laffy Taffy and Tootsie Rolls, a crew of Department of General Services staff worked to clear out damaged parts of the 29,000-square-foot home, with several dumpsters lining the front lawn of the property.
“There’s been some people looking over at the damage, but most people are focusing on the joy of the day,” said Amy Kobeta, communications director for the advocacy group Children’s First, which supports Pennsylvania’s prekindergarten initiatives.
The governor also shared a few more details about the damage to the residence, and plans for its full reopening: He hopes to reopen the now-charred reception room by midsummer, and plans to host an event next month in other parts of the mansion with former Pennsylvania governors and first ladies. The total cost of the damage to taxpayers will be calculated in the coming weeks, after it is determined how much will be covered by insurance, as well as outside fundraising by the former governors, he said.
Shapiro will sleep at the residence this week, he said, and repeated that he feels confident in his state police detail to keep him safe. An independent review of the security breach and state police procedures is underway.
“I’m not going to live in fear,” Shapiro added.