Gunfire, Fireworks and an Air‑soft Rifle: FBI Field Office Under Attack in Manhattan

Early Monday, July 20, 2026, the tranquil hum of the federal complex on 26 Federal Plaza was shattered by an unexpected barrage of noise and flame. Witnesses say a man in a dark hoodie arrived just before 8:30 a.m., pushing a cart that bore a bold sign reading “ICE off our streets.”

Within moments he detonated a bundle of fireworks, the explosions echoing off the glass‑clad building. He then produced an air‑soft rifle—yes, the kind that shoots plastic pellets—and fired a few rounds into the hallway of the immigration court. The shots were harmless in themselves, but the shooter had another trick up his sleeve.

He tipped an orange bucket, doused the floor with a flammable liquid and, as if on cue, a flash fire erupted, sending smoke curling up the marble stairwell. The sudden blaze forced staff to scramble for exits, and three people—two federal employees and a civilian immigrant waiting for his hearing—sustained minor injuries.

Security personnel from the Federal Protective Service, backed by a private guard contractor, moved in quickly. By 9 a.m., the suspect was on the ground, handcuffed, and escorted to the FBI’s New York field office for questioning. The man identified himself as Andrew Arrabaca, 43, a former U.S. Army veteran originally from Poughkeepsie, now listed at an address in Harlem.

FBI Assistant Director James Barnacle described Arrabaca as an “anti‑American, anti‑government extremist,” noting that the attacker repeatedly shouted slogans against ICE and the federal government while the incident unfolded. He added that the suspect apparently carried a grudge against immigration enforcement, though a concrete motive remains under investigation.

Police recovered a bewildering assortment of items from the cart and the suspect’s belongings: several fireworks, two axes, a hammer, a machete, three knives, an additional air‑soft rifle, and a container of the incendiary liquid that sparked the fire. The NYPD’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has been called in, and the case is now being treated as a potential domestic‑terrorism incident.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the attack in a brief statement, calling it “a cowardly act of hatred that will not deter our city from welcoming newcomers.” He also announced the cancellation of a naturalization ceremony that had been scheduled for that afternoon at the same building.

As of now, no formal charges have been filed; investigators are still combing through surveillance footage, interviewing witnesses, and cataloguing the recovered weapons. The FBI and NYPD say they expect to release a full update within the next 24‑48 hours.

While the immediate danger has passed, the incident leaves a lingering question about security at federal facilities in densely populated urban areas. For now, the focus is on the victims’ recovery and ensuring that a similar breach does not happen again.