Canadian and American investigators have arrested a man on suspicion of attempting to illegally enter the United States to carry out a terror attack on New York City’s Jewish community on behalf of the Islamic State.
Mohammed Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was arrested Wednesday in Ormstown, Quebec, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the U.S. border.
U.S. authorities said the suspect, a Pakistani national living near Toronto, was planning a rifle attack to coincide with the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 or the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on Oct. 11.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI in coordination with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
“Through strong Canadian-U.S. collaboration, we can reassure the public that despite Khan’s escalating actions, he was not an imminent threat at any time prior to his arrest,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement Friday.
The suspect is scheduled to appear in court in Montreal on September 13th.
The FBI said in a statement Friday that the suspect planned the attack with two other people, but was unaware that they were undercover agents.
He urged the undercover agents to obtain AR-type rifles, ammunition and hunting knives in preparation for the raid.
Prosecutors said the suspects paid traffickers to smuggle them to the U.S. border.
In messages to undercover agents, he said New York, with its relatively large Jewish population, would be “the perfect place to target Jews,” according to authorities.
“If our plan is successful, it would be the largest attack on American soil since 9/11,” he said, referring to the al-Qaida attacks of September 11, 2001.
“The defendant was allegedly determined to kill Jews in the United States nearly a year after Hamas’ horrific attacks on Israel,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.
“This planned anti-Semitic attack against Jewish people in the United States is deplorable. There is no room for such ideological and hate crimes in Canada,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Mike Duhem said.
