A 21-year-old Pakistani national has pleaded guilty in a United States court to plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, in a case authorities say was inspired by ISIS and timed to coincide with the anniversary of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, entered the plea before US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe and is due to be sentenced on 12 August 2026. He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.
Prosecutors said Khan, a Pakistani citizen who had been living in Canada, planned to travel into the United States and carry out an attack at a prominent Jewish religious site in Brooklyn, using automatic-style weapons to cause mass casualties.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Khan had aimed to time the attack with the anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks in Israel, with the explicit intent of killing as many Jewish people as possible.
He said New York City had been chosen because of its large Jewish population and described the plan as one that could have resulted in one of the deadliest attacks on US soil in recent years.
US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said the plot had been disrupted before Khan reached the United States, following an investigation involving federal and local authorities. He said the case underscored that terrorism and hate-based violence would not be tolerated and that law enforcement agencies remained committed to protecting communities and places of worship.
According to court documents, Khan began expressing support for ISIS online in late 2023, sharing propaganda and communicating with individuals he believed were collaborators. Those individuals were, in fact, undercover officers.
During those exchanges, prosecutors said Khan outlined plans to target Jewish sites using assault-style rifles and other weapons, and discussed logistics, including crossing the US-Canada border with the help of a human smuggler. He later shifted his focus to a specific Jewish centre in Brooklyn, identifying a location within the building where he intended to carry out the attack.
Authorities said Khan repeatedly urged the acquisition of weapons and other equipment, and at one point stated that, if successful, the attack could rival the scale of the September 11 attacks.
On 4 September 2024, Khan travelled from the Toronto area towards the US border but was arrested near Ormstown, Quebec, about 12 miles from the crossing point.
Officials said the investigation involved the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York, alongside multiple US agencies and Canadian authorities, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Khan was later extradited to the United States in June 2025.
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