Pakistani Man Charged with Plotting Terrorist Attack on Jewish Center around October 7 Attack Anniversary

A Pakistani national was charged with plotting a terrorist attack on a Jewish center in New York City on or around the first-year anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, the Department of Justice announced on Friday.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was arrested Wednesday in Canada and taken into custody, according to a complaint filed in New York’s Southern District. The man, who resides in Canada, is said to be a supporter of ISIS.

“The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around October 7th of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible,” U.S. attorney general Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack.”

Khan intended to acquire automatic and semiautomatic weapons to shoot Jews at a Brooklyn Jewish center, as outlined in the complaint. He communicated his plans with two undercover law-enforcement officers, who have been keeping an eye on him since at least November 2023.

Conversing with the undercover officers, Khan floated October 7 and 11 as potential dates for the mass shooting because “oct 7 they will surely have some protests and oct 11 is yom.kippur.”

Originally plotting to carry out the attack in an unnamed city, Khan committed to New York City as the target. The defendant boasted that “New york is perfect to target jews” because it has the “largest Jewish population In america” and “even if we dont attack a[n] Event[,] we could rack up easily a lot of jews.” He also said that “we are going to nyc to slaughter them,” and shared a photo of the specific location inside the unidentified Jewish center where he planned to commit the shooting.

Khan coordinated with the undercover agents to obtain AR-style rifles, ammunition, and other equipment, including “some good hunting [knives] so we can slit their throats.” He claimed that “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest Attack on US soil since 9/11.”

However, before the suspect could continue preparing for such an attack, he was arrested this week about twelve miles from the U.S.–Canada border in Ormstown, Quebec. He used three cars to travel from Canada to the U.S. before he was caught, according to the complaint.

Khan was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, ISIS. If convicted on the sole charge, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

The case is under investigation by the FBI in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The Justice Department is seeking to extradite Khan from Canada.

“The FBI will continue to work closely with our partners to investigate and hold accountable those who seek to commit violence in the name of ISIS or other terrorist organizations,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said. “Fighting terrorism remains the FBI’s top priority.”