One person arrested in New York City federal building explosion
One person has been arrested after an explosion outside a federal building in New York City.
Authorities have identified the man who allegedly set off an incendiary device outside a federal building in Manhattan as a former U.S. Army soldier and “anti-government extremist.”
Andrew Aravaca, 43, was arrested on July 20 on suspicion of igniting gasoline and large fireworks and firing an airsoft rifle at 26 Federal Plaza, home to the field offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Assistant Director James Barnacle told reporters. Officials said no charges have yet been filed. Two government employees and a civilian, an immigrant who had a hearing that day, were injured in the incident, Barnacle said.
Mayor Zoran Mamdani said on social media: “What happened this morning outside 26 Federal Plaza is deeply disturbing.” “We are relieved that no one was seriously injured and the suspect is in custody.”
What happened in the New York explosion?
Barnacle said Alabaca took the subway from his last known address in Harlem to Penn Station on July 19. He reportedly stayed overnight near the Holland Tunnel and headed to the Federal Building in the early morning hours of July 20.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, citing witnesses, said Aravaca arrived at 26 Federal Plaza around 8:30 a.m., ignited what appeared to be a firework and fired several shots from an airsoft rifle. He then allegedly dumped a bucket of flammable liquid between two sets of bushes along the perimeter of the building, starting the fire.
Tisch said federal agents detained Aravaca, who was wearing a military helmet and a sign that read “ICE OFF THE STREETS.” Law enforcement found his vehicle, two airsoft rifles, and a container of flammable liquid that Mr. Barnacle identified as gasoline.
Tisch said the incident occurred in view of NYPD cameras. Witness footage shared on social media also showed smoke billowing and police slamming someone to the ground.
The FBI previously said in a statement to USA TODAY that the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force was investigating the incident.
The Joint Terrorism Task Force was first established in New York City in 1980 and is “a multi-law enforcement agency, including NYPD detectives and FBI special agents, who investigate terrorism in the New York City metropolitan area and around the world,” according to the NYPD.
Who is the suspect in the New York explosion?
Barnacle said Alabaca served in the Army from 2001 to 2005, working as a repairman or mechanic on the development of the Patriot missile system. He said Aravaca had “several encounters with law enforcement,” but “none of them rose to this level.”
Barnacle said Aravaca arrived at the federal building with “malicious intentions” carrying “a cart loaded with anti-ICE literature,” as well as incendiary devices, six fireworks, a hammer, a machete, three knives and an airsoft rifle. He said Aravaca, who Barnacle described as an “anti-American, anti-government extremist,” admitted to law enforcement after his arrest that he had targeted the building.
“He was trying to hurt people and cause harm,” Barnacle said.
