30 things we know about the arson attack at the Pennsylvania governor’s residence

The arson attack at the Pennsylvania governor’s residence continues to reverberate across the commonwealth, days after an intruder was able to break into the residence in the early morning hours on April 13 and firebomb the home. 

With new information about the attack and the suspect steadily emerging, City & State has gathered 30 things we know after the fire at the home of Gov. Josh Shapiro, which has led to a central Pennsylvania man being charged with arson, attempted murder and terrorism charges. 

1 - The suspect is a former mechanic from the Harrisburg area

The suspect in the attack, Cody Allen Balmer, according to posts on social media, was at one point a mechanic in the Harrisburg area for Kinderman’s Auto Repair. 

In a post on Facebook, the business stated: “In light of current events regarding a former employee of ours, we would like to say that he has not worked for us for over 2 years … While we are saddened to learn of these current charges, we fully support our men and women in law enforcement as well as our government officials.”

2 - Balmer is facing arson, attempted murder and terrorism charges

So far, Balmer is facing eight charges in relation to the attack on the governor’s residence. Prosecutors have charged Balmer with six felony charges: attempted homicide, aggravated arson, burglary, terrorism and two aggravated assault charges. 

He’s also facing two misdemeanor charges, including recklessly endangering another person, and loitering and prowling at night.

3 - Police say Balmer used a hammer and Molotov cocktails during the attack 

According to the criminal complaint against Balmer, police say Balmer admitted in an interview to scaling a perimeter fence on the property, breaking two windows with a hammer and throwing Molotov cocktails inside the building.

When asked by police what he would have done if he encountered Shapiro inside the residence, Balmer replied he would have beaten Shapiro with his hammer, according to the police affidavit. 

4 - Police say they have security camera footage of the perpetrator

Two search warrants from the Pennsylvania State Police indicate that the agency has footage of Balmer climbing over the residence’s fence. Footage also showed that Balmer was wearing two different colored gloves, and it also reportedly shows Balmer exiting the property along Geiger Street before running away from the governor’s mansion in a southeast direction. 

Police also obtained video footage from privately owned security cameras, which helped police determine that Balmer traveled east on Peffer Street after setting the fires. Law enforcement later found gloves matching the description that smelled of gasoline.

5 - Police say Balmer’s actions were politically motivated

According to a search warrant for a residence at South 29th Street in Penbrook Borough, police say Balmer called Dauphin County 911 after setting the fires, “and related that Governor Josh Shapiro needs to know that he ‘... will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.’” Police say his remarks during the 911 call “demonstrates Balmer’s political motivation for his conduct.”

6 - Balmer’s family says he struggled with mental health

According to reporting from PennLive, Balmer’s mother called Dauphin County crisis intervention April 6 after noticing erratic behavior from her son – just one week before the firebombing at the governor’s residence. Once Balmer realized the call had been made, he left his parents’ home, where he had been living for the past year, according to the outlet. His mother also told the outlet that he made strange comments, including one claiming that Shapiro “ate babies.” She said he also stopped taking prescribed medication for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. 

7 - Balmer denied experiencing mental health issues at his arraignment

Balmer, who has yet to enter a plea, denied suffering from mental health challenges during his arraignment on April 14, according to reports. Spotlight PA reporter Stephen Caruso posted on X that during Balmer’s arraignment on Monday, when asked by the judge whether he has mental health issues, he said: “That’s the rumor, but no ma’am.”

8 - He has a past criminal history that included domestic violence

Balmer was previously arrested in 2015 for forging checks and was also arrested in 2023 on assault charges, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty to the forgery charges in April 2016. 

Court documents also show Balmer was charged with three counts of simple assault following the 2023 incident. A 2023 affidavit written by Penbrook Borough Police Officer John Pesce says that Pesce was dispatched to a Penbrook home after a child caller said his stepfather was beating his mother. Balmer’s wife at the time, Adrian Balmer, told police that Balmer assaulted her. Balmer told police following the incident that he took a bottle of pills in an attempt to kill himself, which resulted in an argument between Cody and Adrian. After their 13-year-old son stepped between them, Cody reportedly shoved the child, resulting in an altercation. Adrian Balmer told police that Cody Balmer struck her in the face with a closed fist, elbowed their 10-year-old son multiple times in the chest and stepped on his already-broken leg. 

9 - Balmer faced housing complications

Balmer also faced foreclosure proceedings tied to his Central Pennsylvania home, according to a document from the Dauphin County Sheriff's Office. 

10- His social media history included criticisms of both parties

While Balmer allegedly told investigators that the attack was motivated by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s stance on Israel and that nation’s ongoing war against Hamas, posts on his Facebook page don’t appear to show a clear political ideology. 

One post on Facebook from Jan. 15, 2021, criticized President Joe Biden and his supporters. “Biden supporters shouldn’t exist. Where were you his first run? Well aware of the trash he is,” Balmer wrote. Balmer also frequently shared memes that were critical of the right and the left. Additionally, he shared an image on June 28, 2022, depicting a Molotov cocktail that reads: “Be the light you want to see in the world.”

11 - Police seized personal devices belonging to Balmer

Search warrants show police have confiscated several items belonging to Balmer, including a black smartphone, a red HP laptop computer, an external hard drive, a silver smartphone, another black smartphone and an LG-brand smartphone with a broken screen. 

12 - The attack damaged the residence’s dining and piano rooms

The fire caused significant damage to the dining and piano rooms of the governor’s residence, according to images released by the Shapiro administration. Shapiro said, “It’ll take some time” before the dining room can be restored and reopened to the public. 

13 - Police say third-party security review is coming

Pennsylvania State Police officials said this week that they will be engaging a third-party expert to conduct an independent security review following the attack at the residence. 

Pennsylvania State Police announced Friday that it has retained Jeffrey B. Miller, a strategic security consultant and former commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, to conduct the review. “The public expects and deserves an independent examination of the events that transpired during this unprecedented attack on our government leadership,” said Pennsylvania State Police Colonel Christopher Paris. 

According to the agency, Miller will travel to Harrisburg next week for site visits and interviews. The assessment will also focus on the property’s monitoring systems, duty assignments of the governor’s security detail and emergency response protocols. After the review, Miller will issue a report to the Pennsylvania State Police and governor’s office. 

14 - Harrisburg fire chief says rebuild will cost millions of dollars

According to The Burg, a local Harrisburg magazine, Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said the day after the fire that the governor’s residence did not have a fire suppression system. Enterline said he hopes a sprinkler system will be installed when the building is renovated, and suggested that rebuilding efforts will cost millions of dollars. 

15 - Balmer’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 23 at 2 p.m. 

Balmer’s preliminary court hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 23. It will take place at the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg, where Magisterial District Judge Matthew Pianka will preside over the proceeding.

16 - Police believe DNA evidence will corroborate Balmer’s statements

In a search warrant, Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael J. Gragg wrote that police extracted DNA from gloves, a jacket, a bag and a sledgehammer they believe belong to Balmer. Gragg wrote that he believes the DNA “will corroborate the statements made by Balmer regarding his involvement in the fire at the Governor’s Residence.”

17 - Shapiro provides details on hours leading up to the attack

During his appearance at the fire station on Thursday, the governor provided more details on the hours leading up to the attack. Shapiro said his family and guests wrapped up their Passover seder by around 10 p.m. Saturday night before moving into a private section on the first floor. “Everybody was just enjoying one another and spending time and celebrating, not just the holiday, but each other – enjoying each other’s company,” he recalled.

He said his family went upstairs to get ready for bed, and that he fell asleep around 1 a.m. “Less than an hour later, I heard yelling in the hallway, which was not like our kids’ voices. It was one of the state troopers running down the hallway, and he banged on the door. I don’t know how he did it, but it wasn’t a knock, it was more of a bang. He said, ‘Governor, First Lady, we got to get up. There’s a fire. We got to evacuate immediately.’” 

“Within just a few seconds, we ran to each of the doors in the hallway to open them up and get the kids up, get the dogs up and usher everybody down a back stairwell,” he told reporters. “We were able to gather a few items up from the house, and then we were on our way to a safe location for all of us. We got the kids to sleep, got them settled, and then the next morning, you saw me, I drove back and was at the residence with all of you.”

18 - Shapiro says Balmer tripped security sensor on the property

In an interview with “Good Morning America” released this week, the governor said State Police realized Balmer entered the property after he tripped a security sensor. “He tripped off one of the security sensors here, which prompted a state trooper to come out and try and figure out what was going on while he was here,” Shapiro told GMA anchor George Stephanopoulos.

19 - Shapiro condemns political violence following attack

Shapiro has been resolute in his denouncement of political violence following the April 13 arson attack. “This type of violence is not OK. This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society, and I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another, or one particular person or another – it is not OK, and it has to stop,” he said the day of the fire. 

“If this individual was trying to deter me from doing my job as your governor, rest assured, I will find a way to work even harder than I was just yesterday for the good people of Pennsylvania,” the governor added. 

20 - The Shapiro family served meals to Harrisburg firefighters to thank them

Members of the Shapiro family visited the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire Station 1 on Thursday to serve meals to the local firefighters who responded to the attack and put out the fire at the governor’s mansion. In public remarks, Shapiro said his family wanted to give back to the first responders who helped them. 

“We talked as a family about wanting to do something to help say ‘thank you.’ There’s no real words other than ‘thank you’ – and there’s no way that we can fully express our great thanks other than to be dedicated to supporting our firefighters and first responders every day. We wanted to do something special for them today. Our kids certainly urged us to do this, to serve them a meal and make sure that they knew they were being well taken care of, and so that’s why we’re here today.”

21 - Department of General Services reveals renovation plans

Department of General Services Secretary Reggie McNeil offered a glimpse into planned restoration efforts for the governor’s residence, saying that the department has set an “aggressive restoration and construction schedule” that will allow the living quarters and workspace to be reopened in the coming days. He also said that the agency is working with the Pennsylvania State Police on safety and security upgrades to the building. 

22 - Shapiro expects ‘things to change’ following attack

Shapiro said he expects major security upgrades to be made at the governor’s residence in the aftermath of the attack. “There are going to be a lot of improvements – a lot of improvements to the grounds, a lot of improvements to the technology that’s used and a lot of improvements to the systems." 

23 - Shapiro says his family will go back to residence ‘as soon as we can’

The governor said his family is eager to return the governor’s residence and open it back up to the public: “We’re going to go back as soon as we can, and the Department of General Services has done an extraordinary job working to get the living quarters cleaned and ready for us to come back to,” he said.

24 - Former Pennsylvania governors offer their support 

Pennsylvania’s former governors and first families – including former Govs. Tom Wolf, Tom Corbett, Ed Rendell, Mark Schweiker and Tom Ridge – have rallied around the Shapiros to offer support in their time of need, saying in a joint statement Friday that the attack “shook each of us to our cores.”

"We stand together, Republicans and Democrats alike, in our belief that Pennsylvania must be a place of tolerance and respect – the ideals that guided William Penn – and we condemn in the strongest of terms the attack on the Governor, his family, and our entire Commonwealth,” they said, adding that they met with Shapiro and the first lady to offer their assistance. “We’ve chosen to band together as former occupants of the Governor’s Residence to do everything we can to restore the home to its great beauty, as quickly as possible.”

25 - Shapiro responds to Chuck Schumer’s call for a federal hate crime probe

Democratic U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said this week that he believes the U.S. Department of Justice should investigate the attack as a hate crime. “We cannot rid society of evil, hatred, or antisemitism without investigating all possible hate crime cases and calling it out immediately, loudly, and justly when substantiated,” Schumer wrote in a post on X. “It’s time for the DOJ to do precisely that.”

Shapiro, however, said Schumer’s comments aren’t particularly helpful. “As to Sen. Schumer or anybody else, I don’t think it’s helpful for people on the outside who haven’t seen the evidence, who don't know what occurred, who are applying their own viewpoints to the situation, to weigh in in that manner,” he said. “My trust is with the prosecutor to make the decision. He’ll make the right decisions and we’ll be fully supportive of whatever decision he makes.”

26 - Shapiro says he hasn’t heard from President Donald Trump following the attack

The governor told Stephanopoulos that while he has heard from FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi after Sunday’s fire, he hasn’t heard from the president. 

“Have you heard from President Trump?” Stephanopoulos asked, to which Shapiro responded, “I haven’t.”  Stephanopoulos followed up: “Not at all?” “No,” Shapiro responded.

Trump did speak with reporters about the incident on Monday, saying he isn’t aware of Balmer’s motive, according to USA Today. “He was probably just a whack job and certainly a thing like that can not be allowed to happen.”

27 - The governor has ‘complete faith’ in Dauphin DA Chardo

Shapiro said this week that he wouldn’t object to charges at the federal level if the Justice Department decides to bring charges. However, he reiterated his confidence in Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo. 

“I have total and complete confidence in District Attorney Fran Chardo to charge this case as he sees fit – to analyze the evidence, to apply the law and to see the case through,” he said. “I’m not going to weigh in on what those charges should be. I’m not going to question his judgment. Should the Department of Justice choose to bring charges, I’ll also respect their decision to do just that.”

28 - The annual Easter event will go on as scheduled

Despite the fire at the governor’s mansion, Shapiro said Thursday that his family remains committed to hosting the administration’s annual Easter event at the governor’s residence next Tuesday. “The Easter Egg roll is scheduled, and we’re both insistent upon it happening,” he said. “We want to welcome children and families from all across Pennsylvania back to the governor’s residence. Obviously, it’ll take some time before we can have them in the state dining room, but we’re going to work to get that prepared real quick.”

29 - ‘Do not be deterred in practicing your faith,’ Shapiro says

The arson attack took place just hours after the Shapiro family and guests celebrated the first night of Passover with a seder, the dinner held on the first night of the holiday, at the residence, and Shapiro has been firm in his stance that Pennsylvanians should not be afraid to practice their faith.

“I’ll just say a message to people of all faith communities: Do not be deterred in practicing your faith. Do not be deterred in being proud of who you are. I’m proud of who I am. Lori's proud of who she is. We’re raising our children to be proud of who they are,” he said. “Here in the birthplace of religious freedom – a place that William Penn founded to be a place that would be warm and welcoming for people of all different faiths – I want you to know that you’re safe here in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and we’re going to celebrate your faith.”

30 - Shapiro says his family is ‘getting through it’

Shapiro, his wife Lori, and three of their four kids were present at the time the fires were started, and he said he family is “getting through it” thanks in part to an outpouring of support from people across the state and nation. 

“My kids are resilient, and Lori is a rock, and we're getting through it. We’re lifted up, as Lori has said, by the prayers and the warm wishes.”