Gov. Josh Shapiro recalls arson attack in keynote address focused on political violence

PITTSBURGH — It was April 13, and the governor’s mansion was full of family.

“Just hours before we had gathered in the state dining room to celebrate the first night of Passover in the very room the arsonist broke into and set on fire and launched Molotov cocktails and made his way through the governor’s mansion weilding a metal hammer,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said.

RELATED COVERAGE >>> Man admitted to ‘harboring hatred’ toward Gov. Shapiro before setting fire to residence, police say

Shapiro relives those moments to a crowd of hundreds at the fifth Eradicate Hate Global Summit. He speaks to the current climate we live in, where violence may be in different places, with different people with different perspectives, but each person is human.

“I think what we need right now is calm. What we need is what Governor Corbett, Governor Wolf, Governor Ridge and others demonstrated in the wake of the attack here in Pennsylvania: they all came together, and they didn’t give any space for finger-pointing or blame or giving any pass to any particular type of violence. They came together; they condemned it and brought down the temperature,” Shapiro said.

Sitting in the crowd listening and relating to the Governor were survivors of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting.

“What was really heartwarming to me was Governor Corbett called him up and said, ‘what can we do,’ and all the governors were there to support him. That’s the kind of stories we need to be telling people coming together from different political parties and supporting each other,” said Andrea Wedner, who’s a survivor of Tree of Life.

As the summit rounds out another year of conversations on preventing this type of violence, Wedner believes progress is being made.

“People are working extremely hard to try to eradicate hate and make this world a better place to live,” Wedner told Channel 11.

She believes a key piece is also opening the dialogue with the students of our region.

“They are going to be the leaders of the world, and if we can start that process now, hopefully, they will grow up in a better place,” Wedner said.

The Eradicate Hate Global Summit wraps up on Wednesday.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group