New York, New York - A man was arrested on Monday after setting off an incendiary device outside of a building in New York that houses federal immigration offices, officials said.
During a press conference, FBI officials said the suspect – armed with a pellet gun – was seen pouring an unknown liquid on the ground, placing fireworks on top, and igniting them. This resulted in a small fire.
Video taken by witnesses and published on social media showed smoke billowing on the sidewalk outside of the Manhattan building.
"This morning an individual deployed an incendiary device outside of 26 Federal Plaza in New York," FBI Director Kash Patel said on X. "The individual is in custody."
He said the suspect is being treated for two minor injuries and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force was investigating the incident.
Among the occupants of the building are immigration courts and the New York field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown.
House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the attack.
"Acts of terror and violence have no place in our city and will never be tolerated," the lawmaker from New York said in a statement. "The individual responsible for this must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."