A Pakistani citizen was arrested in Canada on Sept. 4 after his alleged mass shooting plot on a New York City Jewish center was discovered, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
The accused, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, allegedly wanted to use semiautomatic and automatic guns to murder people in the name of ISIS.
“Thanks to the investigative work of the FBI, and the quick action of our Canadian law enforcement partners, the defendant was taken into custody,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“As I said to Canada’s Minister of Public Safety yesterday, 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. The Justice Department will continue to work closely with our domestic and international partners to aggressively counter the threat posed by ISIS and other terrorist organizations and their supporters,” he said.
Khan allegedly detailed his plan to a pair of undercover FBI agents and said he planned to carry out the attacks on or around Oct. 7 in a reference to Hamas’s attack on Israel, which killed hundreds of civilians while injuring thousands.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the bureau led the investigation.
“This investigation was led by the FBI, and I am proud of the terrific work by the FBI team and our partners to disrupt Khan’s plan,” Wray said. “The FBI will continue to work closely with our partners to investigate and hold accountable those who seek to commit violence in the name of ISIS or other terrorist organizations. Fighting terrorism remains the FBI’s top priority.”
In the criminal complaint, it is detailed that Khan told the officers that “New york is perfect to target jews” because it has the “largest Jewish population In america,” and, as such, “even if we dont attack a Event we could rack up easily a lot of jews.”
Khan allegedly had considerable interest in ISIS, a terrorist organization. Detailed in the complaint, Khan told a secret FBI source that he wanted to send money to ISIS-K, the offshoot of ISIS involved in the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 U.S. soldiers during a chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan, and wanted to travel to West Africa to join the region’s ISIS branch, ISWAP.
Khan had large aspirations for the plot. He noted in one communication to undercover officers that “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest Attack on US soil since 9/11.”
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Khan has been charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.