A Pakistani citizen living in Canada has been extradited to the United States to answer charges over an ISIS-inspired plan to conduct a mass shooting at a Jewish center in New York City on the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, U.S. officials confirmed.
The Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday that 20-year-old Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, alias Shahzeb Jadoon, was turned over to U.S. custody after an indictment in the Southern District of New York.
Khan was going to enter the United States with the sole aim of executing the attack, and he was reportedly planning an ISIS-inspired attack, FBI Director Kash Patel said. "Big news… this afternoon Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a Pakistan citizen living in Canada, was extradited to the United States on charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS and attempting to commit an act of terrorism," Patel stated in a tweet on X.
Khan is set to appear in court for the first time on Wednesday.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said that the suspect intended to conduct a mass shooting using automatic guns, which targeted members of the Jewish community as a show of solidarity with ISIS. The press release from the DOJ also mentioned that in conversations with undercover federal agents, Khan boasted that the intended assault could be "the largest attack on US soil since 9/11.
Khan was first detained in Canada in September 2023 after a criminal complaint was filed in the Southern District of New York.
The complaint states that Khan attempted to travel from Canada to Brooklyn, New York, intending to commit a mass shooting at a Jewish community center. In November last year, he started manifesting his support for ISIS via social media and encrypted messaging platforms, sharing propaganda clips and extremist materials.
Shortly thereafter, Khan started messaging two undercover police officers. He talked about organizing a coordinated attack, claiming to be from an ISIS "offline cell" and advocating for an attack with AR-style rifles on "Israeli Jewish chabads. spread out all over" an American city.
He also repeatedly ordered the agents to purchase AR-style rifles, ammo, and other devices, including "some nice hunting [knives] so we can cut their throats."
Khan offered explicit plans, including where targets might be located, and instructions on how he planned to enter the U.S.-Canada border. In these communications, he noted that "Oct 7th and Oct 11th are the best days for targeting the Jews," referencing the anniversary of the Hamas attacks and Yom Kippur, the holiest day of Judaism.
Khan had by August 20 narrowed his target to a Jewish center in Brooklyn, having said that New York City was "perfect to target jews" because of the concentration of Jews there. "Even if we don't attack a[n] Event[,] we could rack up easily a lot of jews," he told agents, according to reports.
His attempt to travel started on about September 4, when he employed three different vehicles to transport himself across Canada towards the U.S. border. He was intercepted by Canadian law enforcement just outside Ormstown, about 12 miles from the border.
Khan is now charged with two federal offenses: attempted provision of material support to ISIS and attempted terrorism abroad. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment.
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