A 43-year-old former U.S. Army soldier poured gasoline outside 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, set it ablaze, launched fireworks at the building, and fired a pellet gun at bystanders before a federal officer tackled him, the FBI and multiple law enforcement officials said Sunday.
Andrew Arrabaca was taken into custody at the scene after the attack, which unfolded around 8:30 a.m. and left three people with minor injuries, including one person who had been attending an immigration court hearing inside the building. A fourth person was later treated for minor injuries as well, the New York Post reported. No deaths occurred.
The building houses New York's Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office, federal immigration courts, and an FBI office. Arrabaca was carrying an anti-ICE sign during the attack, and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force has taken over the investigation.
The scope of what Arrabaca brought to the scene stunned even seasoned federal officials. When officers searched him after the takedown, they found two axes, a hammer, a machete, three fixed-blade knives, at least one airsoft rifle, six incendiary devices, fireworks, and a written manifesto, Fox News reported.
FBI New York Field Office Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle laid out the sequence at a press conference. Arrabaca dumped an unknown liquid, identified by other officials as gasoline, onto the ground outside the plaza. He then placed fireworks on top of the accelerant and used a lighter to ignite the fire. While the blaze burned, he fired between five and seven rounds from a pellet gun toward the building and the people near it, the Washington Examiner reported.
A Federal Protective Service officer confronted and tackled Arrabaca, ending the attack before it could escalate further.
Barnacle did not hold back about the suspect's intent. At the press conference, the FBI official called Arrabaca an extremist motivated by anti-government ideology.
"He is an anti-American, anti-government extremist."
Barnacle also described the attack as deliberate and targeted, telling reporters that Arrabaca arrived prepared to cause casualties.
"The building was attacked. Mr. Arrabaca was looking to injure people and harm people."
AP News reported that Arrabaca told investigators he did not care if he killed people during the assault. That statement, if confirmed in court filings, could carry significant weight in any federal prosecution and in determining whether terrorism enhancement charges apply.
Arrabaca served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2005, Just The News reported, citing officials. His military service overlapped with the early years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, though authorities have not publicly disclosed details about his deployments or discharge status.
The manifesto recovered from Arrabaca has not been released publicly. Investigators have not said whether it names specific targets beyond ICE or outlines broader plans. The anti-ICE sign he carried during the attack, combined with the choice of 26 Federal Plaza as his target, points to immigration enforcement as a central grievance. But the full scope of his ideology remains under review by the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The attack fits a pattern that federal law enforcement has tracked with growing alarm. Anti-ICE extremism has fueled violent assaults on federal immigration facilities in recent years, and the threat level around those sites has not diminished.
Three people sustained minor injuries during the attack. One of them, a person who had been inside the building for an immigration court hearing, was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian hospital for treatment. The other two were treated at the scene. The New York Post's account noted a fourth person also received treatment for minor injuries.
Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether any of the injured were federal employees or law enforcement officers. The distinction matters for potential sentencing enhancements if Arrabaca faces charges related to assaulting federal officers or employees.
The incident also raises questions about security protocols at 26 Federal Plaza, one of the largest federal buildings in New York City. The attack occurred on a sidewalk outside the building, an area accessible to the general public. Investigators will need to determine whether Arrabaca conducted prior surveillance of the location and how he transported an arsenal of weapons and accelerants to the site without detection.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a statement calling the incident alarming.
"What occurred outside 26 Federal Plaza this morning was deeply disturbing."
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency unit that handles domestic and international terrorism cases in the New York area, has assumed control of the investigation. Federal prosecutors have not yet announced formal charges, and it remains unclear whether Arrabaca will face state charges in addition to any federal counts.
The range of potential federal charges is broad. Arrabaca could face counts related to arson of a federal building, use of an incendiary device, assault, and weapons offenses. If prosecutors pursue terrorism-related charges, the case could carry substantially longer sentences. Anti-ICE protests have increasingly drawn federal scrutiny, with federal grand juries indicting protesters who cross the line from speech into violence.
The Federal Protective Service officer who tackled Arrabaca has not been publicly identified. FPS officers are responsible for security at federal buildings nationwide, and the agency has faced scrutiny over staffing levels and readiness at high-profile locations. In this case, the officer's intervention likely prevented a far worse outcome.
Arrabaca was carrying six incendiary devices when he was detained. Authorities have not said whether any of those devices were ready to deploy or whether the gasoline fire he started was intended as a diversion for a larger attack. Those questions will be central to the JTTF investigation.
The speed of the officer's response stands in contrast to other recent incidents where anti-ICE confrontations at federal facilities escalated before law enforcement could intervene. Here, one officer's decision to close the distance and physically stop the suspect may have been the difference between minor injuries and mass casualties.
The JTTF investigation is in its early stages, and several critical questions remain open. Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether Arrabaca acted alone or had contact with any organized group. The manifesto's contents have not been disclosed, and investigators have not said whether they have identified any co-conspirators or support network.
Forensic analysis of the incendiary devices will help determine their destructive potential. Investigators will also need to trace how Arrabaca acquired his weapons and materials, and whether any of those acquisitions triggered red flags that were missed.
The case arrives at a moment when threats against federal buildings and immigration enforcement personnel are drawing intense attention from both law enforcement and lawmakers. Recent plots targeting federal facilities, including a foiled attack plan involving drones and a sniper, have underscored the breadth of the threat landscape facing federal security agencies.
Sunday's attack did not happen in a vacuum. Anti-ICE rhetoric has intensified in recent years, and a subset of that movement has turned violent. Federal prosecutors have pursued aggressive charges in cases where protest activity crossed into arson, assault, or destruction of federal property. Legislative efforts to strengthen penalties for attacks on public spaces have gained momentum at both the state and federal level.
Arrabaca's alleged statement that he did not care if he killed people, if it holds up in court, will likely become a centerpiece of the prosecution's case. It transforms the incident from a chaotic protest gone wrong into something prosecutors can frame as a premeditated act of violence against a federal installation.
When a man shows up to a federal building with gasoline, six incendiary devices, a machete, and a manifesto, the question is not whether the system will respond. The question is whether it was paying attention before he got there.
