Fast Forward

Pakistani national charged in plot to kill Jews in New York City

The suspect headed toward the US “with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible”

The Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Photo by iStock

By Lauren Markoe September 6, 2024

Justice Department officials said on Friday that a Pakistani national arrested in Canada this week planned a mass shooting to kill Jews in New York City.

Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement said the suspect planned an attack to take place around Oct. 7 “with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible.”

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, wanted to target a Jewish center in Brooklyn, Garland said.

He is charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization.

Khan, who lives in Canada, began posting his support for ISIS around November 2o23 on an encrypted messaging app, and distributed ISIS propaganda videos and literature, according to the statement. He informed undercover agents that he would cross the border into the U.S., create an “a real offline cell” of ISIS supporters to carry out the attack against Jews, and that he wanted AR-style assault rifles, ammunition and “some good hunting [knives] so we can slit their throats.”

He wanted to attack around the anniversary of Hamas’ assault on Israel, the statement said. “Oct 7th and oct 11th are the best days for targeting the jews” because “oct 7 they will surely have some protests and oct 11 is yom.kippur,” he wrote. At one point he expressed a desire to target “Israeli Jewish chabads.” He wrote that he chose New York because more Jews live there than any city in the U.S.

He considered several locations for the attack before choosing a Brooklyn target, according to the statement.

During one communication with undercover agents, according to federal officials, Khan noted that “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11.”

Canadian law enforcement arrested Khan Wednesday about 12 miles from the U.S. border, “in or near” the town of Ormstown, Quebec.

Khan faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.

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

Lauren Markoe is news editor of the Forward. A Bronx native, she reported for The Patriot Ledger, several McClatchy newspapers in the South, and Religion News Service, where she was also managing editor. She also produced live radio shows at WAMU in Washington, D.C., where she lives.

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