A former U.S. Army soldier carrying an anti-ICE sign set off fireworks, started a fire and fired a pellet gun outside a Manhattan federal office building Monday morning, injuring three people before security officers subdued him, authorities said. Andrew Arrabaca, 43, went to 26 Federal Plaza around 8:30 a.m. wearing a military-style helmet and hauling a cart with a sign that read “ICE Off Our Streets,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

The building houses offices for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and other federal agencies, as well as an immigration court. One of the injured people had a hearing there. The building has also been a hub of protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Investigation and arrest

According to James Barnacle, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, Arrabaca poured gasoline on the ground outside an employee entrance and ignited it with a lighter and a large firework. He then pulled out an airsoft rifle and fired five to seven pellets at the building, Barnacle said. Two Federal Protective Service officers and a security contractor ran up and took him into custody.

Tisch, citing security video, described a slightly different sequence. She said Arrabaca first lit a bundle of fireworks, then pulled the pellet gun from his coat and fired at the building. She said he next took an orange bucket from his cart, dumped a flammable liquid near bushes along the building’s perimeter and started a fire. An initial 911 call reported an active shooter, followed by calls reporting an explosion and a man setting off fireworks.

  • Two government employees and a civilian were injured.
  • The Department of Homeland Security said a bystander was grazed by fireworks.
  • A security officer who tackled Arrabaca sustained minor injuries.
  • The New York City Fire Department said one person was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening.

Barnacle said Arrabaca made “anti-government and anti-American statements” during his arrest and told investigators he did not care if he killed people. Authorities said he also had two axes, three fixed-blade knives, a hammer and a machete. Arrabaca repaired Patriot missile systems while serving in the Army from 2001 to 2005. His last known address was in Harlem, and he has also lived in Poughkeepsie.

No charges had been announced against Arrabaca as of Monday evening, and it was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating, although Barnacle declined to classify the incident as an act of terrorism. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was relieved that no one was seriously injured and that a suspect was in custody.