A Pakistani national known as “Shahzeb Jadoon” pleaded guilty to planning a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, New York. The terrorist act was originally planned for Oct. 7, 2024, but was foiled when he was arrested in Canada on Sept. 4, 2024, ahead of trying to enter the United States. His goal was to execute the “largest attack on US soil since 9/11.”
Jabdoon, legally known as Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, pleaded guilty to “attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, for attempting to enter the United States and carry out a mass shooting with automatic weapons,” the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday. The date of the planned event was to coincide with the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel by Hamas.
“Muhammad Shahzeb Khan intended to come to New York City and carry out an ISIS-inspired act of terror against our city’s Jewish community,” said New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “The NYPD, in close coordination with our federal partners, was able to stop this dangerous plot before it could become a devastating attack. This case is yet another example of the sophisticated work that the NYPD does to protect our communities from harm and our ongoing commitment to stop hate-fueled violence.”
“Muhammad Khan targeted a prominent Jewish religious center in Brooklyn to honor the October 7th anniversary by attempting to conduct what he hoped would be the largest terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11,” said James C. Barnacle Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI New York Field Office. “Khan planned to inflict significant casualties and fear before he was intercepted 12 miles from our northern border. May today’s plea emphasize the FBI’s unwavering commitment to stand alongside our local law enforcement partners to defend our city from terrorists seeking to harm any of our citizens.”
Khan was apprehended because he was unknowingly chatting with undercover FBI agents. He was noticed after posting “on social media and communicating with others about his support for ISIS,” starting in Nov. 2023. He unknowingly told his plan to two undercover agents, including how he had arranged for a “human smuggler who would help him cross the border from Canada into the United States for the attack.” In Aug. 2024, he said he planned to target a “prominent Jewish religious center in Brooklyn, New York” because “New York is perfect to target jews” and that the city has “the largest Jewish population in America.”
In additional communication, Khan relayed that he was “going to nyc to slaughter them,” later providing a photo of the location of the center to undercover agents. He planned to obtain “AR-15 style rifles” in the attack, as well as hunting knives to “slit their throats.” He boasted that if the attack were successful, it would “be the largest Attack on US soil since 9/11.”
JUDGE RULES PENTAGON PRESS RESTRICTIONS UNLAWFUL
“Muhammad Khan planned to carry out a horrendous attack on a venerated Jewish center in New York City in support of ISIS,” said Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Thanks to the work of our law enforcement partners at the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI, Khan’s plan was disrupted before he reached the United States. Today’s guilty plea makes unequivocally clear: terrorism and other hate-based violence have zero place in New York City.”
Khan’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 12, 2026. One charge that he pleaded guilty to, attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, the DOJ noted in a press release.
