Man targeted Manhattan federal building, was willing to kill, FBI official says

The military veteran arrested by federal agents Monday for setting off fireworks and starting a large blaze outside New York City’s largest immigration court told law enforcement officials he was willing to injure or kill people, according to the FBI.

Andrew Arrabaca, 43, was taken into custody outside 26 Federal Plaza early Monday morning after authorities said he set off a bundle of fireworks, fired pellets from an Airsoft rifle and ignited a flammable liquid outside the Lower Manhattan building before officers from the Federal Protective Service tackled him to the ground around 8:30 a.m.

His attorney information was not immediately available.

According to James Barnacle, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, Arrabaca told investigators he was looking to cause harm.

“He did say he was targeting the building and he was okay if he hurt or killed people going in and out of the building, whether they were federal employees or civilians,” Barnacle said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

He added that two government employees and one civilian — an immigrant arriving at the building for a hearing — suffered minor injuries during the incident, which unfolded in front of the building’s employee entrance on Worth Street.

Investigators found a collection of additional weapons, including two axes, a hammer, a machete and three knives, as well as six incendiary devices or fireworks and other “destructive items,” Barnacle said.

Law enforcement officials said Arrabaca appeared to be targeting the building, which houses the Department of Homeland Security along with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the FBI.

Barnacle said Arrabaca had a cart with him that had “anti-ICE literature” on it and said he allegedly yelled “derogatory terms” about ICE agents when he was arrested.

Arrabaca served in the U.S. Army from about 2001 to 2005 as a repairman or mechanic on Patriot missile systems, Barnacle said. He added that Arrabaca has had a “couple of encounters with law enforcement” that officials are not ready to disclose, but “nothing rising to this level.” Barnacle said he wasn’t aware of whether Arrabaca had participated in protests in the past.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Arrabaca is from Poughkeepsie, but his last known address was in Harlem. She said police found his vehicle, a black Toyota RAV4, parked near West 124th Street and Broadway and were seeking a warrant to search it.

Barnacle said Arrabaca took the subway from Harlem to the Penn Station area on Sunday and stayed overnight in the vicinity of the Holland Tunnel before heading toward Lower Manhattan around 5 a.m. He arrived in the area of Federal Plaza shortly after 8 a.m., Barnacle said.

The FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the incident. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security referred to Arrabaca as an “anti-ICE rioter” and said officers found a “manifesto” in his bag. Barnacle did not confirm that detail Monday afternoon and said investigators were still collecting evidence.

Charges had not been filed as of Monday afternoon. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York is working with the FBI, NYPD, Federal Protective Service and other agencies on the investigation.

Video of the incident obtained by Gothamist from a building across the street shows a small fire blazing and plumes of smoke billowing on the sidewalk as police descend. Officers then appear to extinguish the flames.

Additional footage from the scene shared on social media by CNN shows officers closing off the area with metal gates. Around noon Monday, the sidewalk outside the building was cordoned off as two people arrived wearing what appeared to be white Hazmat suits. A small cart near the scene was adorned with a sign that said “ICE off our streets.”

Victor Pulla works in a parking garage across the street from the building and described hearing what sounded like gunshots during the incident.

“A woman ran in here to the garage asking for help, saying that they were shooting over there,” he said in Spanish. “We didn’t know what to do, so what we did was lock ourselves in here,” he said, gesturing to the garage’s small interior office.

After they emerged, Pulla said he watched federal agents take a man away in handcuffs.

He said working right across the street from the city’s main immigration court building means protests and occasional incidents do happen, but said he had never seen anything of this magnitude.

“More than fear, we’re on alert… for whatever else can happen,” Pulla said.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on X that what happened outside 26 Federal Plaza “was deeply disturbing.”

“I’m relieved no one was seriously injured and that a suspect is in custody. My team is in touch with the NYPD and we will support the federal investigation,” he said. “Our administration will continue to ensure that every New Yorker is safe in their city — and hold accountable any who threaten that.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.