Overview
- The incident unfolded Monday morning when a man set off commercial fireworks, poured a flammable liquid and ignited a fire outside 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan while firing a pellet gun toward the building.
- Authorities identified the suspect as 43‑year‑old Andrew Arrabaca, a former U.S. Army mechanic, who was quickly tackled and taken into custody by federal security and local police.
- Officers recovered a cart bearing an anti‑ICE sign, a bag with pellet/airsoft guns and a reported manifesto, plus multiple edged and blunt weapons from the suspect’s possessions.
- At least three people suffered minor injuries and the NYPD bomb squad and FDNY processed the scene while prosecutors moved to charge Arrabaca with arson or explosion causing damage to U.S. government property.
- Investigators from the FBI JTTF are leading a terrorism inquiry and courts are balancing detention with mental‑health issues after a judge ordered a federal lockup evaluation rather than transfer to a VA ward; 26 Federal Plaza has long been a focal point for protests and heightened security around ICE and immigration courts.