A 20-year-old Pakistani national living in Canada was arrested for plotting a terror attack on a Jewish centre in New York City. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan was charged for trying to provide material support to the Islamic State for a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn in October this year.
US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said Khan, aka Shahzeb Jadoon, planned the attack around October 7, “with the intent of slaughtering in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible”.
According to a statement from The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Khan was arrested on Wednesday in Ormstown, Quebec, south of Montreal, and is set to appear in court on September 13.
"The defendant (Khan) was allegedly determined to kill Jewish people here in the United States, nearly one year after Hamas' horrific attack on Israel. This investigation was led by the FBI, and I am proud of the terrific work by the FBI team and our partners to disrupt Khan's plan," FBI director Christopher Wray said.
According to the indictment, Khan attempted to travel to New York from Canada, where he planned to carry out the mass shooting. According to ANI, he started voicing his support for the IS on social media and an encrypted messaging application around November last year. He shared IS propaganda videos and literature. He came in touch with two undercover law enforcement officers, and instructed them to obtain AR-style assault rifles, ammunition, and other materials to carry out the attacks. Khan also identified locations for the attacks, and also shared with the officers the details of his plan to cross the border from Canada. He picked October 7 and 11 as “the best days for targeting the Jews" as October 7 is the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, and the other is a Jewish religious holiday, Yom Kippur.
If convicted, Khan faces up to 20 years in prison.
October 7 would be the first anniversary of the attack by Hamas on Israel that left around 1,200 people dead and triggered an Israeli assault that has so far killed more than 40,000 people.