In less than an hour after he allegedly burned the house of the Governor of Pennsylvania, the suspect called 911 and seemed to be apologizing and confessed to the early Sunday attack, according to a newly released recording of the summons.
“I don’t really have an emergency. I want to apologize,” the suspect, a 38-year-old Cody Balmer, was heard to tell the operator in the recording of the call obtained by ABC News through a request for public notes.
Balmer refers to the Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro and himself by the name in the recording of the call, which has been quoted in several warrants in this case.
“Governor Josh Shapiro needs to know that Cody Balmer will not take part in his plan for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” Balmer said in a recording. “He must leave my family alone.”
“He must stop killing my friends,” he continued in the recording. “Our people have been done too much by the monster.”
Damage to the dining room of residence near the fire is also mentioned in a call, according to the recording.
“All he has is a banquet room to be cleaned,” Balmer said in a recording. “I’m tired of offering a peaceful extension. I just want to be able to provide for my children. I should not be taken to this extreme. That’s not fair.”
The investigator was at the scene after the fire last night at the official residence of the Governor, April 13, 2025 in Harrisburg, PA.
Marc Levy/AP
The suspect said he hoped “not endangering anyone,” according to the recording.
“But the man, the man made a serious and serious loss for yourself might be included,” he continued in the recording. “And I hope the best, sir. You all know where to find me. I don’t hide, and I confessed to everything I have done.”
Balmer’s voice was rather calm as long as the call was about minutes, even though he was heard taking some deep breaths. It seems he hung up the phone before the operator could respond.
ABC News has contacted the Balmer General Defender to comment on the call and has not yet received a response.
Call 911 was carried out around 02:50 weeks, according to the search warrant.
Member of the Fire Bureau Harrisburg responded to the governor’s residence at around 2 in the morning for a fire report.
The attack occurred a few hours after the Shapiro family accommodated more than two dozen people for the first night of Easter. The attacker jumped the fence at the governor’s house, broke the window, entered the residence and mobilized Molotov cocktails made of beer and gasoline bottles, the police said.
Shapiro and his family were in the residence during the fire but were evacuated safely and were not injured, according to the State Police.
Cody A. Balmer appeared for a photo of Mugshot after being charged with a fire at the residence of the Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, April 13, 2025 in Harrisburg, PA.
Dauphin District Prosecutor’s Office/Getty Image
Balmer surrendered and allegedly acknowledged the fire, according to a search warrant.
He faced eight criminal charges, including attempted murder, terrorism and exacerbated burning. So far, prosecutors have not used racial crime laws, which in Pennsylvania are known as ethnic intimidation.
He has not submitted an application for the accusation.
BALMER – A mechanic who previously declared an insult to Democrats on social media – was rejected by guarantees of his indictment on Monday.
During the trial, his lawyer said the balmer was poor and asked for a reasonable monetary guarantee, “but the judge denied it, saying that while he appreciated that Balmer surrendered, there were no conditions that could make him harmless to the community.
He will appear in court on April 23 for the preliminary hearing.