Pakistani man arrested in Canada planned attack on New York "to kill as many Jews as possible"

The Department of Justice announced the arrest of Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, in the Canadian town of Ormstown as he traveled toward New York "in order to kill as many Jews as possible" on a date close to October 7, the anniversary of Hamas's brutal and massive attack on Israeli civilians. The young Pakistani planned to execute the biggest massacre in the Big Apple since 9/11 and create an Islamist group.

The arrest, according to the report released by the DOJ, came about through the work of two undercover FBI agents, who convinced the young man that they were interested in his ideas, which Khan shared through social networks and encrypted apps. In these messages, the alleged terrorist, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, intended to attack a Jewish center in the city of Brooklyn with semi-automatic weapons.

Under surveillance since November 2023

Khan had been monitored since November 2023, when he began sharing ISIS propaganda on social media. The agents assigned to monitor him contacted him and thanks to their work were able to follow the evolution of his plans to disrupt them with the help of Canadian police. His idea when he began his journey to the northern border was to commit the attack around October 7, taking advantage of the celebration of events commemorating the attack or the 11th of the same month because Yom Kippur is celebrated.

Although initially preparing for an attack in an unidentified U.S. city, Khan changed his target to NY since "New York is perfect for attacking Jews because it has the largest Jewish population in America." Thus, "even if we don't attack any events[,] we could easily take out a lot of Jews." The young man noted that "we are going to New York to slaughter them."

As reported by the DOJ, Khan is charged with "one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison." In the statement, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland thanked Canadian authorities for their cooperation and expressed pride "in the magnificent work of the FBI" for disrupting the young man's plans.