Pakistani national Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, has pleaded guilty to "attempting to commit acts of terrorism... and carry out a mass shooting with automatic weapons at a prominent Jewish center in Brooklyn, New York," the US Justice Department's Office of Public Affairs said on Wednesday.
The attack was inspired by ISIS and was planned for October 7, 2024, on the first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 massacre.
Khan, a 21-year-old Pakistani who was based in Canada and had been extradited to the US, also pleaded guilty to attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries and attempting to enter the US in order to carry out his planned terror attack.
In November 2023, he began posting on social media and communicating with others about his support for ISIS, including "distributing ISIS propaganda videos and literature," while still based in Canada, the Justice Department noted.
He subsequently began planning terror attacks in the US in support of ISIS, including communicating with two others, who were undercover officers. Khan was not aware of their true identity.
Khan instructed undercover officers to obtain assault rifles
He told them that he planned to carry out a terror attack in an undisclosed city within the US, including using assault rifles to "target Israeli Jewish chabads... scattered around the city," the Justice Department noted.
According to the government, Khan instructed the undercover officers to obtain assault rifles, ammunition, and other materials in order to carry out the attack, telling them that he had identified a human smuggler who could help him cross the border from Canada into the US.
He changed his target in August 2024, telling the undercover officers that the new target would be a prominent Jewish religious center in Brooklyn and expressing hope that it would occur on October 7, 2024.
"New York is perfect to target Jews because it has the largest Jewish population in America," Khan told the undercover officers.
"Even if we don't attack an event, we could easily rack up a lot of Jews... we are going to slaughter them," he added, the Justice Department noted.
He also sent a photograph to the undercover officers of a specific area within the target location, continuing to urge them to acquire rifles, as well as hunting knives to "slit their throats," and other offensive terror weapons, reiterating his desire to carry out the attack in support of ISIS.
"If we succeed without a plan, this would be the largest Attack on US soil since 9/11," the Justice Department cited him as saying.
On September 4, 2024, he attempted to reach the US-Canada border, traveling from Toronto before being stopped and arrested near Ormstown, Canada, approximately 12 miles from the border, the Justice Department stated.
The US sought to extradite Khan, achieving this in June 2025.
US officials denounce Khan's plans, antisemitic intent
"Khan planned a mass shooting at a Jewish center in New York City, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attacks, with the explicit goal of killing as many Jews as possible," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said.
"Khan declared that New York City was the ‘perfect’ venue for his attack because of its large Jewish population and boasted that his plot could be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11. The National Security Division will work tirelessly to ensure that terrorists like Khan face the full weight of American law," Eisenberg added.
"Muhammad Khan planned to carry out a horrendous attack on a venerated Jewish center in New York City in support of ISIS," US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said.
"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," Clayton added.
"Today’s guilty plea makes unequivocally clear: terrorism and other hate-based violence have zero place in New York City. We will continue to ensure the safety of religious groups who have the fundamental right to gather peaceably and without fear of harm. That’s what New Yorkers want and that’s the American way," Clayton concluded.
"Khan planned to illegally enter the United States and conduct an ISIS-inspired attack on the Jewish community around the one-year anniversary of the attacks in Israel by Hamas," the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division Acting Assistant Director Coult Markovsky said.
"With this guilty plea, he will now face the consequences of planning a mass shooting in New York City that might have killed or injured many people. I want to thank the FBI teams and our partners for their work to prevent an attack and to bring this individual to justice," they added.
"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," the FBI New York Field Office's Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said.
"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," he added.
"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," NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said.
"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," she added.