By Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Pakistani citizen living in Canada was arrested on Wednesday and charged with planning an attack in New York City in support of the Islamic State, the Department of Justice said on Friday.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn around Oct. 7, 2024, nearly one year after Hamas’ attack that killed more than 1,000 people in Israel.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Khan, who is also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, aimed to kill “as many Jewish people as possible.”
Khan attempted to travel from Canada to the United States where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out the attack, according to the indictment.
He was arrested in Canada, just 12 miles (19 km) from the U.S. border.
Khan told two undercover law enforcement officers of his plans to create “a real offline cell” of Islamic State supporters to carry out an attack, the indictment alleged.
He instructed them to obtain AR-style assault rifles, ammunition and other materials to carry out the attacks, and identified specific locations where the attacks would take place.
Khan targeted New York City because it has “the largest Jewish population in America,” prosecutors said.
“We are 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-fueled terrorist attack,” Garland said in a statement.
Khan faces up to 20 years in prison.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward; editing by Diane Craft)
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