Pakistani citizen arrested in Canada, charged with plotting terrorist attack in New York

A Pakistani citizen has been arrested in Canada and charged with plotting a terrorist attack in New York.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shazeb Jadoon, resided in Canada and attempted to enter the U.S. to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn.

Khan was arrested by Canadian police near the border in Quebec on Sept. 4, according to U.S. authorities, who are now seeking his extradition.

“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 B. Garland said in a news release on Friday. “As I said to Canada’s Minister of Public Safety yesterday, we are deeply grateful to our Canadian partners for their critical law enforcement actions in this matter.”

The target of an FBI investigation, Khan has been charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.

A complaint filed with a New York federal court alleges that Khan began showing his support for ISIS on social media around November 2023. He subsequently started communicating with two undercover law enforcement officers, who were told that “New york is perfect to target jews” because it has the “largest Jewish population In America.”

Khan allegedly intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting on or around the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. He allegedly discussed his plans with the undercover officers and claimed he was paying a human smuggler to sneak him into the U.S.

Khan was arrested in or around Ormstown, Que., approximately 20 kilometres from the U.S. border, after travelling in three separate vehicles from in or around Toronto. In one message to the officers, he allegedly wrote, “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest Attack on US soil since 9/11.”

In a statement on X, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the arrest was a product of the strong partnership between the FBI and RCMP.

“Jewish Canadians and Jewish Americans deserve to be safe in their communities,” LeBlanc wrote. “Canada will never tolerate hate, violent extremism or terrorism.”

B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish service organization, released a statement Friday evening saying it had been briefed on the arrest by law enforcement and federal officials. The statement said Khan was residing in Canada on a student visa.

“Our government must act immediately to prevent the entry into Canada of those who harbour radical views and to prevent the further radicalization of its citizens,” the organization said. “Canada is becoming a breeding ground for terrorists. There can be no more excuses. The safety and security of our nation must remain paramount.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated