A 21-year-old Pakistani national residing in Canada has pleaded guilty in the United States to planning an ISIS-inspired mass shooting attack at a prominent Jewish center in Brooklyn, authorities said Wednesday.According to the US Department of Justice, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadon, admitted to attempting to carry out “suprenational terrorist acts” and planning to enter the United States to carry out the attack.The US Department of Justice said in a tweet: “A Pakistani national extradited from Canada has pleaded guilty to attempting to commit ISIS-inspired acts of terrorism and carrying out a mass shooting with automatic weapons at a prominent Jewish center in Brooklyn, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.”
A plot linked to the anniversary of October 7
US officials said Khan intended to time the attack around October 7, 2024, the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel.Assistant District Attorney John Eisenberg said Khan planned the attack “with the express goal of killing as many Jews as possible” and considered New York City an ideal target given its large Jewish population.Investigators said Khan also bragged that the attack could become “the largest attack on American soil since September 11.”
Extremism and planning
Authorities said Khan began expressing support for ISIS in November 2023 while living in Canada, sharing propaganda materials online and communicating with individuals about the extremist ideology.He later made plans to carry out coordinated attacks in the United States and discussed targeting Jewish religious centers. Unbeknownst to him, some of the individuals he contacted were undercover law enforcement officers.Khan allegedly ordered them to purchase assault rifles, ammunition and other weapons, including knives, for the planned attack.
Attempting to enter the United States and being arrested in Canada
Officials said Khan sought to cross illegally into the United States with the help of a human smuggler.On September 4, 2024, he traveled from the Toronto area toward the US border but was intercepted and arrested near Ormstown, Quebec, about 12 miles from the border.The operation involved coordination between the FBI and Canadian authorities, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Extradition and charges
Khan was extradited to the United States in June 2025, and has now pleaded guilty in a federal court in New York.He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The ruling is scheduled for August 12, 2026.US Attorney Jay Clayton said the plot was foiled before Khan could enter the country, while FBI officials emphasized the role of joint counterterrorism efforts.Authorities described the case as an important example of preventing a potential large-scale terrorist attack targeting a religious community.
