NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A 20-year-old Pakistani national was charged on Wednesday with plotting a terrorist attack in New York City in support of the terrorist organization ISIS, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, aka “Shahzeb Jadoon,” was arrested on Sept. 4 in Canada in connection with a DOJ complaint charging him with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, ISIS. This charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The suspect, a resident of Canada, allegedly attempted to travel from Canada to NYC, where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to commit a mass shooting at a Brooklyn Jewish center.
According to the complaint, Khan told undercover law enforcement officers that he wanted to “target Israeli Jewish chabads . . . scattered all around [NYC]." He added, “u guys will even have to attend some s[yn]agogue or chabad sessions . . . to check the insides of [t]he buildings.” He said it is “v[ery] important” for them to know where emergency exits were located “so we can trap them and kill them inside.” Chabad Lubavitch is one of the world's largest Hasidic movements. It's world headquarters are located in Crown Heights.
According to the charges, in November 2023 Khan began posting on social media and communicating on an encrypted messaging app about supporting ISIS, among other things. He also distributed ISIS propaganda videos and literature, the DOJ said.
He began communicating with two undercover law enforcement officers, and in those conversations confirmed that he and a United States-backed associate planned to attack a particular city, and was actively trying to create “a real offline cell.”
The DOJ said that on or about Aug. 20, 2024, Khan changed the attack location to NYC. He decided to target a Jewish center in Brooklyn, and told the undercover officers that he planned to carry out the attack on or around Oct. 7, recognizing it as the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terror attack on southern Israel, and acknowledging NYC as having the largest Jewish population in the U.S.
Khan encouraged the undercover officers to acquire AR-style assault rifles, ammunition and other equipment for the attack, and consistently reiterated his desire to commit the attack in support of ISIS.
During one communication with the officers, Khan noted that “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11.”
On or about Sept. 4, Khan attempted to reach the U.S.-Canada border, traveling from the Toronto area toward the U.S. He was stopped in or around Ormstown, Quebec, about one hour southwest of Montreal and 20 minutes north of New York State.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is seeking an extradition of Khan from Canada.