Pakistani man planning to attack Jewish centre in New York City is arrested, charged

A 20-year-old Pakistani man living in Canada was arrested and charged with planning an attack at a Jewish Centre in New York City (NYC) in support of the Islamic State (ISIS), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Friday (Sept 6).

In a statement, the DOJ said that the man was identified as Muhammad Shahzeb Khan. He was arrested in Canada on Wednesday in connection with a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York. 

“Khan was charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation (FTO), the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS),” the statement added.

According to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Khan allegedly planned a terrorist attack in NYC on October 7, “with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible.”

“Thanks to the investigative work of the FBI, and the quick action of our Canadian law enforcement partners, the defendant was taken into custody,” Garland said.

“The Justice Department will continue to work closely with our domestic and international partners to aggressively counter the threat posed by ISIS and other terrorist organisations and their supporters,” he added.

Khan attempted to travel from Canada to New York City, where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, the DOJ statement said.

The 20-year-old man “began posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging application about his support for ISIS in or about November 2023, when, among other things, Khan distributed ISIS propaganda videos and literature.”

He also paid for a human smuggler to help him reach and cross the border from Canada into the US. During one communication, Khan noted that “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest Attack on US soil since 9/11.”

Khan is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated FTO. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.