RCMP arrests man in Quebec allegedly plotting terror attack on Jewish community in New York

The RCMP logo is seen on a podium ahead of a news conference, in St. John's on June 24, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The RCMP arrested a 20-year-old man who was allegedly in the process of planning a deadly terror attack targeting Jewish citizens in the United States.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, also known as Shazeb Jadoon, was arrested on Wednesday in Ormstown, Que., located 61 km southwest of Montreal.  

According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Khan, a Pakistani citizen, allegedly attempted to enter the United States to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in New York City.

"As alleged in the Complaint, Khan, who resided in Canada, attempted to travel from Canada to New York City, where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, New York."

The US Attorney's Office plans to seek Khan's extradition from Canada. 

According to the complaint that was unsealed on Friday, Khan allegedly began posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging application about his support for ISIS in November 2023. He also distributed ISIS propaganda videos and literature.

Subsequently, Khan began communicating with two undercover law enforcement officers, the complaint states.

"During those conversations, Khan confirmed that he and a US-based associate had been planning to carry out an attack in a particular US city ("City-1").  

"Among other things, Khan said that he had been actively attempting to create "a real offline cell" of ISIS supporters to carry out a "coordinated assault" in City-1 using AR-style assault rifles to "target [] Israeli Jewish chabads . . . scattered all around [City-1]."

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the accused allegedly planned the terrorist attack around Oct. 7.

Additionally, the complaint also states that Khan repeatedly instructed the undercover law enforcement officers to obtain AR-style assault rifles, ammunition, and other materials to carry out the attacks, and identified the specific locations in City-1 where the attacks would take place.  

Khan also provided details about how he would cross the border from Canada into the US to conduct the attacks.  

During these conversations with the undercover law enforcement officers, Khan allegedly emphasized that "Oct 7th and oct 11th are the best days for targeting the jews" because "oct 7 they will surely have some protests and oct 11 is yom.kippur."

The accused then allegedly changed the target location to New York City on Aug. 20.

Khan was charged with attempting to leave Canada to commit an offence for a terrorist group, participating in the activities of a terrorist group and one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to an RCMP spokesperson, Khan was later re-arrested under a provisional arrest warrant pursuant to the Extradition Act.

"With the strong partnership between Canada and the US, we can reassure the public that as his actions escalated, at no point in time was Khan an immediate threat prior to his arrest."

The accused is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Montreal on Sept. 23.

The RCMP led the investigation in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"The news of threats to the Jewish community is alarming. We will not tolerate any form of threats, harassment or violence targeting Jewish communities. The RCMP continues to work in collaboration with our domestic and international partners to detect, investigate and disrupt criminal acts that are targeting Jewish Communities," the RCMP said.

"The Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams are actively engaged on this portfolio and continue to take concrete actions, as illustrated by this arrest, to keep Canadians safe and prevent targeted acts of violence not only in Canada, but abroad."