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Veteran Sets Fire, Injures Workers at NYC Federal Plaza

7/21/2026

34 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Arrabaca Attacks Plaza

U.S. Army veteran Andrew Arrabaca set fire, poured gasoline and fired a pellet gun at 26 Federal Plaza in New York, injuring employees and an immigrant.
Federal officers and an FBI agent restrained him while he brandished axes, a machete, knives and a hammer.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the attack disturbing and pledged support.
FBI Assistant Director James Barnacle called Arrabaca an anti-American extremist but said it is not terrorism.

Summary

Arrabaca FBI Probe

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force continues investigating Andrew Arrabaca after no criminal charges were filed.
Federal records note a prior, non-arrested encounter with agents in which he was described as emotionally disturbed.
He combined service as a Patriot missile mechanic (2001-2004) with a 2008 psychology degree from SUNY New Paltz and lobbying the EPA in 2013 for a 40 percent fuel cut by 2025.

History

Historical Context

On April 19 1995, Gulf-War veteran Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb of ammonium nitrate outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people. He cited the 1993 Waco siege and 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff as justification, fueling a surge in federal monitoring of anti-government militias and prompting later scrutiny of veteran mental-health services.

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Arrabaca Attacks Plaza

U.S. Army veteran Andrew Arrabaca set fire, poured gasoline and fired a pellet gun at 26 Federal Plaza in New York, injuring employees and an immigrant.
Federal officers and an FBI agent restrained him while he brandished axes, a machete, knives and a hammer.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the attack disturbing and pledged support.
FBI Assistant Director James Barnacle called Arrabaca an anti-American extremist but said it is not terrorism.

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