A Pakistani citizen living in Canada planned to carry out a terrorist attack in New York because it has the “largest Jewish population in America.”
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was extradited to the United States on June 10 and appeared in court on June 11.
According to the US Justice Department, he is charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), as well as attempting to commit acts of terrorism that cross national boundaries.
“Khan allegedly tried to enter the United States to commit an attack on the Jewish community in New York City, planning an ISIS-inspired mass shooting around the one-year anniversary of the [Oct. 7] attack,” said Kash Patel, the FBI’s director.
According to Radio Canada, Khan arrived in Canada on a student visa.
Federal prosecutors claimed Khan planned to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS at a Jewish community center in Brooklyn, New York.
Khan began expressing support for ISIS on social media in 2023, prosecutors said. He eventually began communicating with two undercover law enforcement officers using an encrypted messaging app. During those conversations, prosecutors say Khan urged the officers to buy the materials needed for the attack.
Khan stated that he was actively attempting to form “a real offline cell” of ISIS supporters who would carry out a “coordinated assault” using AR-style rifles to “target[] Israeli Jewish chabads.”
Khan repeatedly instructed the undercover officers to purchase rifles, ammunition, and other necessary supplies, emphasizing that “October 7th and 11th are the best days for targeting the Jews” because “October 7th they will undoubtedly have some protests and October 11th is Yom Kippur.”
In other comments, Khan focused on New York, saying “New York is perfect to target Jews” because it has the “largest Jewish population in America” and thus, “even if we do not attack an event, we could easily rack up a lot of Jews.” Khan declared, “We are going to NYC to slaughter them.”
Aside from guns, Khan suggested that the officers get “some good hunting [knives] so we can slit their throats,” and that “if we succeed with our plan, this would be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11.”
Aside from asking the undercover officers to buy the weapons for the planned attack, Khan also looked for rental properties near one of his intended targets and paid for a human smuggler to assist him in reaching and crossing the border from Canada into the United States.
According to federal prosecutors, Khan attempted to cross the United States border in September 2024. During his journey across Canada to the United States, he drove three different cars. Khan was apprehended by Canadian authorities near Ormstown, approximately 12 miles from the border.
If convicted, Khan faces up to life in prison.
