A Pakistani national has pleaded guilty in a US court for planning an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack targeting a Jewish centre in New York. Authorities said the accused intended to carry out a mass shooting around the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks before he was arrested near the US-Canada border.
Pakistani Man Admits Terror Plot in US Court
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, a 21-year-old Pakistani national, pleaded guilty on Wednesday before US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe in Manhattan to one count of attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for August 12, 2026.
The US Department of Justice announced the guilty plea, with Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg stating that Khan had planned the attack “with the explicit goal of killing as many Jews as possible.” Eisenberg added that Khan described New York City as the “perfect” location due to its large Jewish population and boasted the plot could be “the largest attack on US soil since 9/11.”
Planned Attack Targeted Jewish Community in Brooklyn
Khan had identified a prominent Jewish religious centre in Brooklyn, New York, as his target. Court documents describe it as a major ultra-orthodox Hasidic institution. He intended to carry out a mass shooting using AR-style assault rifles, and also requested hunting knives to be acquired for the attack.
The planned date was on or around October 7, 2024, the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel. Khan told undercover law enforcement officers that the timing was deliberate, describing New York as ideal because it has the “largest Jewish population in America.” In communications reviewed by prosecutors, he stated that “we are going to nyc to slaughter them” and that even without targeting a specific event, the attack could “rack up easily a lot of jews.”
US Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York described the intended target as a “venerated Jewish center” and said the guilty plea made clear that “terrorism and other hate-based violence have zero place in New York City.”
Arrested Before Entering the United States
Khan was a Pakistani citizen living in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on a student study permit. He had begun posting on social media in support of ISIS in November 2023, shortly after the Hamas attacks on Israel, and started distributing ISIS propaganda videos and literature online.
He was arrested on September 4, 2024, by RCMP officers near Ormstown, Quebec, approximately 12 miles from the US border, as he attempted to illegally cross into the United States. He had arranged a human smuggler to facilitate his crossing. Khan was later extradited to the United States in June 2025 and had been facing trial scheduled for May 2026 before entering his guilty plea.
Notably, a Canadian government review found that his immigration screening had not identified any risk indicators and his application was never referred for a more comprehensive security review.
Investigation and Law Enforcement Response
The plot was uncovered after Khan communicated his plans with two individuals who were, unbeknownst to him, undercover law enforcement officers. Over the course of those communications, he asked the officers to procure weapons and materials for the attack, shared a photograph of the specific area inside the target location where he planned to open fire, and confirmed his intentions repeatedly.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said Khan had been “intercepted 12 miles from our northern border” and credited close coordination between the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force and local law enforcement. NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said the case demonstrated the department’s ability to stop ISIS-inspired threats before they reached the city.
The case has also raised broader questions about the radicalization pipeline operating through student migration channels and the speed at which individuals with no prior flagged risk indicators can advance toward operational attack planning.