A Pakistani citizen was arrested in Quebec accused of plotting to kill “as many Jewish civilians as possible” in New York City on or near the first anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israelis, according to the United States Justice Department.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, who lived in Canada, tried to cross the border with the intention of travelling to New York, where he planned to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn in support of the Islamic State, prosecutors said.
“New York is perfect to target Jews,” he wrote to an associate, according to the filing, adding, “We could rack up easily a lot of Jews.”
He also boasted that his plan would be “the largest attack on US soil since 9/11,” the filing said.
Mr Khan was taken into custody by Canadian authorities after trying to enter the United States from Ormstown, about 12 miles north of the New York State border. He changed vehicles three times en route to the border, perhaps to evade detection, prosecutors said.
The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, also mentions an unnamed associate, but it was unclear whether that person was in custody, at large, or an informant.
Mr Khan is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation, ISIS, and faces up to 20 years in prison.
In a statement, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland thanked FBI investigators and said US officials were “deeply grateful to our Canadian partners for their critical law enforcement actions in this matter.”
“Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fuelled terrorist attack,” he said.
Starting last November, FBI agents in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles began monitoring Mr Khan’s electronic communications after he posted expressions of support for ISIS and distributed propaganda videos and literature from groups that had been designated as terrorist organisations.
