Pakistani man charged over plot to attack New York Jewish centre around October 7

A Pakistani citizen living in Canada was arrested on Wednesday and charged with planning an attack in New York in support of the Islamic State, the US Department of Justice said on Friday.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn around October 7, 2024, nearly one year after Hamas’ attack in Israel.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Khan, who is also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, aimed to kill “as many Jewish people as possible”.

The Department of Justice was not able to confirm if Khan had obtained legal counsel.

Khan attempted to travel from Canada to the United States where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out the attack, according to the indictment.