A U.S. Army veteran was arrested this Monday after attacking the federal building at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan with a homemade incendiary device. This building houses offices for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and an immigration court.
The FBI, at a press conference, identified the suspect as Andrew Arrabaca, 43 years old, who served in the Army from 2001 to 2005 as a mechanic specialized in Patriot missile systems.
The attack occurred around 8:40 in the morning when Arrabaca entered through the entrance reserved for staff on Worth Street.
According to the authorities, once inside, he poured gasoline on the ground and set it on fire using a lighter and a firecracker placed in a container, which caused an intense blaze at the entrance of the building.
He then fired between five and seven pellets with an air pistol at the facade before attempting to escape. Agents from the Federal Protection Service, with the support of an FBI agent, managed to subdue him and arrest him at the scene.
The fire was quickly brought under control and did not cause significant structural damage.
A manifesto and an arsenal
During a press conference, the deputy director of the FBI office in New York, James Barnacle, reported that the detained individual was carrying two axes, a machete, a hammer, three knives, a pellet gun, and two additional air pistols, as well as a manifesto whose contents are currently being analyzed.
He was also pushing a cart with pamphlets against ICE and a sign that read "ICE out of our streets." According to the FBI, during his arrest, he shouted insults at the immigration agency.
In the subsequent interrogation, Arrabaca admitted that his intention was to attack the building and claimed that he did not care about injuring or killing anyone who entered or exited the premises, whether they were federal employees or civilians.
The attack left three people with minor injuries: an immigrant who was attending a hearing at the immigration court, a Federal Protective Service agent involved in the arrest, and a passerby who was hit by the fireworks used during the attack.
One of the victims was transported to a hospital, although authorities indicated that their injuries are not life-threatening.
Barnacle described the suspect as "an anti-American and anti-government extremist" and stated that the property has been a target for radical groups for years.
"Federal Plaza has long been a target of extremists and terrorists, and today extremism has manifested here. The building has been attacked," he stated.
Investigation for possible terrorism
The investigation is now in the hands of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York, which is trying to determine whether Arrabaca acted independently or received support from others.
The former special agent of the FBI, Tim Gallagher, explained to CBS News that the building attacked is the largest federal complex in the United States outside of the Pentagon and has several levels of security, including personnel from the New York Police, the Federal Protective Service, and the FBI's own police.
The attack occurs in a context of rising tension surrounding the immigration policies of the Trump administration. In September 2025, an ICE facility in Dallas was the scene of another armed attack that left at least one dead and two injured.
As of the time of this reporting, federal authorities had not yet filed formal charges against Arrabaca nor indicated whether he had legal representation.
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