A 20-year-old Pakistani citizen, identified as Muhammad Shahzeb Khan alias “Shahzeb Jadoon,” has been extradited from Canada to the United States. This extradition is linked to an indictment filed in the Southern District of New York.
Following his extradition on Tuesday, Khan faces charges of attempting to provide material support and resources to Daesh — a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO) — and attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance later today.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated, “The foreign terrorist organization Daesh remains a clear and present danger to the American people, and our Jewish citizens are especially targeted by evil groups like these.” She added, “The Department of Justice is proud to help secure this extradition, and we will prosecute this man to the fullest extent of the law.”
FBI Director Kash Patel further highlighted that “Khan allegedly tried to enter the US to commit an attack on the Jewish community in New York City, planning a Daesh-inspired mass shooting around the one-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack.” The FBI chief noted, “Thankfully, the great work of the FBI and our partners shut that down, and Khan has now been extradited to New York to face American justice. I want to thank our teams and partners for their diligent work in this case and executing the mission.”
US Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York asserted, “As alleged, [Muhammad Shahzeb] Khan attempted to enter the US to carry out a deadly terrorist attack on a Jewish center in New York City.” Clayton claimed, “He planned to use automatic weapons to kill as many members of our Jewish community as possible, all in support of Daesh. Khan’s deadly, anti-Semitic plan was thwarted by the diligent work of our law enforcement partners and the career prosecutors in this Office who are committed to rooting out antisemitism and stopping terror.”
Khan was provisionally arrested in Canada on September 4, 2024, based on a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York. As detailed in the complaint, Khan, a resident of Canada, allegedly attempted to travel from Canada to New York City with the intent to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to conduct a mass shooting in support of Daesh at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, New York.
Khan began posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging application about his support for Daesh in or around November 2023. During this period, among other activities, Khan distributed Daesh propaganda videos and literature. Subsequently, Khan initiated communications with two undercover law enforcement officers (collectively, the UCs).
During these conversations, Khan confirmed that he and a US-based Daesh supporter (Associate-1) had been planning to carry out an attack in a particular US city (City-1). Among other things, Khan stated that he had been actively trying to create “a real offline cell” of Daesh supporters to execute a “coordinated assault” in City-1 using AR-style rifles.
He also provided specific details on how he would cross the border from Canada into the United States to carry out the attacks. In his discussions with the UCs, Khan emphasized that “October 7th and Oct 11th are the best days for targeting the Jews” because “October 7 they will surely have some protests and Oct 11 is Yom Kippur.”
On or about August 20, Khan changed his target location from City-1 to New York City. After initially suggesting certain neighborhoods in New York City to the UCs, Khan decided to target Location-1, a Jewish center situated in Brooklyn, New York.
Khan informed the UCs that he intended to carry out this attack on or around October 7, 2024 — a date Khan recognized as the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. To justify his selection of New York City as his target, Khan boasted that “New York is perfect to target Jews” due to its “largest Jewish population in America,” which would allow them to “rack up easily a lot of Jews even if we don’t attack an event.”
Khan proclaimed, “we are going to NYC to slaughter them,” and sent a photograph of the specific area inside Location-1 where he planned to execute the attack. Following this, Khan persistently urged the UCs to acquire AR-style rifles, ammunition, and other equipment for his attack, including “some good hunting [knives] so we can slit their throats.”
Khan repeatedly reiterated his desire to carry out the attack in support of Daesh and discussed planning for the attack, including identifying rental properties close to Location-1 and arranging payment for a human smuggler to assist him in reaching and crossing the border from Canada into the US. During one communication, Khan noted that “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11.”
On or around September 4, as Khan had planned to do in connection with his attack, Khan attempted to reach the US-Canada border. To do so, he utilized three separate cars to travel across Canada towards the US before being intercepted by Canadian authorities in or around Ormstown, Canada, approximately 12 miles from the US-Canada border.
Khan is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization and one count of attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. If convicted, Khan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI’s New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles Field Offices are investigating the case. The Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division successfully facilitated Khan’s extradition from Canada.
