HARRISBURG, Pa. — The man charged with attempted homicide for allegedly setting the Pennsylvania governor’s residence on fire, while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside, called police less than an hour after the incident, telling dispatchers the governor needs to be told he “will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” authorities said.

Details of the call were included in a search warrant executed Tuesday, giving new insight into Cody Balmer’s mindset the night of the attack. Officials have not announced a motive in the case.

Balmer, 38, was charged with attempted homicide, terrorism, arson and related crimes for allegedly attempting to kill Shapiro on Sunday morning. Members of Balmer’s family told media outlets that he struggles with mental illness, and that they had called local police in recent weeks after he stopped taking his medication for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and had become “irritable and agitated.”

Authorities said Balmer called 911 at 2:50 a.m., shortly after he allegedly set the fires in the governor’s mansion. Balmer was not apprehended until he turned himself in at state police headquarters Sunday afternoon, after officials declared a manhunt for the perpetrator was underway. According to a criminal complaint, Balmer’s “ex-paramour” had also called police and said he had confessed to her, asking her to call authorities on him.

According to the warrant, Balmer identified himself by name on the 911 call and told authorities he was not hiding and willing to confess everything he had done.

“Our people have been put through too much by that monster,” Balmer said over the phone, according to the warrant, adding that “all he has is a banquet hall to clean up.”

Shapiro is one of the most prominent Jewish elected officials in the country and Pennsylvania’s third Jewish governor. He and his family gathered in the Harrisburg mansion Saturday evening to celebrate the first night of Passover in the same room where Balmer allegedly later ignited three fires with Molotov cocktail-style devices made from empty beer bottles and gasoline.

After Balmer allegedly confessed to the acts and turned himself in, police executed search warrants on Balmer’s parents’ home, where he resided, seizing his electronic devices, any notes referencing Shapiro or the conflict in Gaza, and a storage unit.

Shapiro has been a steadfast supporter of Israel throughout his career, and especially since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Since then, he has advocated for the safe return of Israelis being held hostage by Hamas, while acknowledging the significant death toll in Gaza. He has repeatedly said he supports a two-state solution for the war-torn region.

However, it is unclear how closely Balmer followed Shapiro’s stance on the issue, or whether the governor was targeted because of his faith and stature as a Jewish leader.

At a news conference Wednesday, Shapiro would not comment on whether he felt he was targeted because of his faith, repeatedly saying it is up to prosecutors to determine Balmer’s motivations.

“I know there are people out there who want to adopt their own political viewpoints or their own world views to what happened and why,” Shapiro said. “I choose not to participate in that.”

Still, Shapiro doubled down on past statements, saying nothing will deter him from doing his job as governor or “proudly and openly practicing” his faith.

“I want (Jewish families) to see that my wife and I and our kids continue to celebrate our faith proudly and openly,” he said. “I want them to see that people from all different faiths have reached out to condemn this act and to lift up our family in prayer, and that’s the Pennsylvania way.”

Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said Wednesday it is unlikely he will charge Balmer with ethnic intimidation at this point, because although any potential hate component is a critical part of the county’s case against Balmer, it would have no impact on the final penalty. Balmer faces upward of 100 years in prison based on the current charges against him.

“It doesn’t increase the grade of the offense, because we’re already at the highest grade,” Chardo said.

Balmer told police that he knew when he started the fires Sunday that Shapiro and his family could be there, that he was “harboring a hatred” for Shapiro, and that he would have attacked him with a hammer if he had seen him inside the residence, according to an affidavit of probable cause outlining the charges against him.

On Tuesday, a coalition of Jewish groups across Pennsylvania released a statement saying that the attack on the state’s Jewish governor on Passover raises “serious concerns and pain for our community.”

“Antisemitic attacks have risen significantly across Pennsylvania and the United States in recent years,” the leaders wrote. “These acts must not be tolerated in any civilized society. Everyone has the right to worship freely, and our differences should not only be tolerated — but embraced and celebrated."

According to the affidavit of probable cause, state police found a “Snap-on” jacket, a black bag, and a small sledgehammer in Balmer’s home — items officials said are identical to what surveillance footage showed that Balmer had with him during the arson attempt. Police said they seized four smartphones, a laptop, and an external hard drive in the search. Another warrant requested a DNA swab from Balmer to compare with the items believed to have been used in the attack.

State police, meanwhile, continue to investigate how Balmer was able to bypass Shapiro’s 24-7 security detail and the additional security assigned to the governor’s residence, climbing a fence, breaking two windows, and setting off Molotov cocktails, evading detection. State police said Wednesday they will work with a third-party expert to conduct an independent security review that will include “a risk and vulnerability assessment” of the mansion.

Balmer has faced criminal charges on several occasions over the last decade, including for assault and forgery, as well as traffic-related offenses. His social media presence on Facebook suggested that he held no allegiance to a specific political party or hatred toward specific groups, posting mostly about drug use, relationship troubles, and memes across the political spectrum.

In 2023, Balmer was charged with three counts of simple assault in a case that is ongoing in Dauphin County. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to one felony count of forgery and was sentenced to 18 months of probation.

April brought renewed concerns over Balmer’s behavior, according to police.

Police in Penbrook, Dauphin County, confirmed that Balmer’s mother, Christie Balmer, reached out to authorities three days before the arson attempt, “concerned for her son’s well-being” after he had left home. She told police she believed her son had stopped taking his medications about a year ago and that he had been upset after she placed a call to a crisis-intervention line for help the week prior. She told police her son had not met the threshold for an involuntary mental health evaluation. In a statement, Penbrook police said they could not petition for Balmer’s involuntary mental health commitment based on hearsay.

However, police said they followed up on Balmer’s mother’s call and confirmed that Balmer had stayed at a hotel in Shippensburg, where the clerk told police he “appeared fine” before checking out.

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(Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Ellie Rushing contributed to this article.)

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