Ex-soldier started a fire and fired a pellet gun outside a New York
federal building, FBI says
[July 21, 2026]
By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JAMIE STENGLE
NEW YORK (AP) — A former U.S. Army soldier toting an anti-ICE sign set
off fireworks, lit a fire and shot a pellet gun Monday morning outside a
Manhattan federal office building, injuring three people before security
officers subdued him, authorities said.
Andrew Arrabaca, 43, went to the building known as 26 Federal Plaza
“armed with bad intentions,” made “anti-government and anti-American
statements” as he was being arrested, and told investigators he didn’t
care if he killed people, said James Barnacle, the assistant director in
charge of the FBI’s New York field office.
“The building was attacked,” Barnacle said at a news conference on the
street where the incident occurred. “Mr. Arrabaca was looking to injure
people and harm people.”
Among the injured was a person who had an immigration court hearing at
the building, which also houses offices for U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, the FBI and other federal agencies. The building has been a
hub of protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
No charges had been announced against Arrabaca as of Monday evening. The
FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating, though Barnacle
declined to classify the attack as an act of terrorism. It was not
immediately clear if Arrabaca had a lawyer who could speak on his
behalf.
Arrabaca showed up outside 26 Federal Plaza around 8:30 a.m. wearing a
military-style helmet and hauling a cart affixed with a sign that said
“ICE Off Our Streets," New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch
said. His last known address was in Harlem, Tisch said, though he has
also lived in Poughkeepsie — about 69 miles (111 kilometers) north of
the city.
According to Barnacle, Arrabaca poured gasoline on the ground outside an
employee entrance and ignited it with a lighter and a large firework,
which also caught fire. He then pulled out an airsoft rifle and fired
five to seven pellets at the building before two Federal Protective
Service officers and a security contractor ran up and took him into
custody, Barnacle said.
Arrabaca, who repaired Patriot missile systems while in the Army from
2001 to 2005, “yelled derogatory terms” and “used bad words” about ICE
as he was being arrested, Barnacle said.
“He is an anti-American, anti-government extremist,” Barnacle said. “We
know that from what he said. We know that from what he said postarrest.
And we know that from his actions that he tried to take today.”
Tisch, citing security video, offered a slightly different sequence of
events. She said Arrabaca first lit a bundle of fireworks and then, as
they began to smoke, pulled the pellet gun from his coat and fired at
the building. Then, she said, he grabbed an orange bucket from his cart,
dumped a flammable liquid near some bushes lining the building's
perimeter and started a fire.
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This photo provided by Robert Sullivan shows black smoke and flames
in front of 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan, Monday, July 20,
2026, in New York. (Robert Sullivan via AP)
Videos and photos from the scene showed a fire on the sidewalk
outside the building with a plume of smoke, as well as officers
restraining a person and taking them away.
An initial 911 call reported an active shooter, Tisch said.
Subsequent calls reported an explosion and a man setting off
fireworks, she said. In addition to the pellet gun, Barnacle said,
Arrabaca had two axes, three fixed-blade knives, a hammer and a
machete.
Two government employees and a civilian, the person going to
immigration court, were injured. The Department of Homeland
Security, which runs the Federal Protective Service and ICE, said a
bystander was grazed by the fireworks. A security officer who
tackled Arrabaca sustained minor injuries, the agency said. The New
York City Fire Department said one person was taken to a hospital
with injuries that were not life threatening.
“What occurred outside 26 Federal Plaza this morning was deeply
disturbing,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media.
“I’m relieved no one was seriously injured and that a suspect is in
custody.”
The building, where agents have carried out chaotic and sometimes
violent arrests in the hallway as migrants leave hearings, is in a
cluster of government buildings and courthouses in Lower Manhattan,
a few blocks from City Hall, NYPD headquarters and the Brooklyn
Bridge.
Security at 26 Federal Plaza was increased dramatically in the 1990s
after it was revealed that followers of Egyptian sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman
had included the building in a list of five New York City landmarks
that were targeted for bombings. A bulletproof security booth was
installed and a street outside the building’s parking garage was
closed to most vehicular traffic. ___
Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker
in Washington and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this
report.
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