July 21 (UPI) -- A 43-year-old U.S. Army veteran is accused of setting off fireworks, igniting a large blaze and brandishing an airsoft rifle out front of a lower Manhattan federal building in what authorities have said is an anti-government attack.
The incident occurred Monday morning out front of lower Manhattan's 26 Federal Plaza, where a federal immigration court and several government agencies, including the FBI's New York field office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are located.
Authorities said during a press conference that the suspect, Andrew Arrabaca of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. was detained shortly before 9 a.m. by federal protective services members and a security contractor. FBI agents then swiftly took Arrabaca into custody and he was interviewed by FBI agents.
Two government employees and a civilian suffered minor injuries in the incident, according to James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York field office, who identified the wounded civilian as an immigrant on the premises for an immigration hearing.
Arrabaca allegedly told authorities in a post-arrest interview that he was "targeting the building and he was okay if he hurt or killed people going in and out of the federal building, whether they were federal employees or civilians," Barnacle said.
