NEW YORK: A Pakistani national residing in Canada has been arrested on charges of planning an attack in New York City in support of the Islamic State, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn around October 7, nearly one year after Hamas’ attack on Israel.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, aimed to kill “as many Jewish people as possible.”
The Department of Justice has not confirmed whether Khan has obtained legal representation.
According to the indictment, Khan attempted to travel from Canada to the U.S. with the intention of using automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out the attack.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement on Friday that they arrested Khan on Wednesday in Ormstown, Quebec, south of Montreal. He is scheduled to appear in court in Montreal on September 13.
The indictment alleges that Khan disclosed his plans to two undercover law enforcement officers, expressing his desire to form “a real offline cell” of Islamic State supporters to carry out the attack.
He reportedly instructed them to acquire AR-style assault rifles, ammunition, and other materials necessary for the attack, and identified specific locations where the attacks would take place.
Khan chose New York City as his target due to its “largest Jewish population in America,” according to prosecutors.
“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 a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
October 7 marks the first anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and triggered an ongoing Israeli offensive, now in its eleventh month, that has killed more than 40,000 people.
Communities across North America have since reported an increase in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks.
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