Pakistani Man Arrested For Allegedly Planning ISIS-Inspired Attack On Jews

Authorities arrested a 20-year-old Pakistani national in Canada on charges of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, New York, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan was arrested Sept. 4 for allegedly planning to attack Jews around the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, according to the press release. Khan tried to travel from Canada, where he resides, to New York City with the alleged intention of killing as many Jewish people as possible in the name of ISIS.

“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,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the press release. “Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack.”

Khan faces charges of attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS.

Khan reportedly started spreading ISIS propaganda and declared his support to the terror group on social media and encrypted messaging platforms as early as November 2023, the DOJ stated. During conversations with two undercover law enforcement officers, he discussed forming a “real offline cell” of ISIS supporters to target “Israeli Jewish chabads” in America.

“If we succeed with our plan, this would be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11,” Khan once said, according to the press release.

The Justice Department reported that Khan considered carrying out attacks either on the anniversary of Oct. 7 or during Yom Kippur on October 11, targeting New York because of its large Jewish population, according to the press release.