U.S. authorities and the RCMP say a Canadian resident has been arrested in Quebec over an alleged Islamic State terror plot to kill Jewish people in New York around the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel last year.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday that Pakistani national Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was arrested Wednesday in relation to a planned mass shooting that was to take place around Oct. 7.
United States Attorney General Merrick Garland said Khan was alleged to have had the goal of “slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible.”
He said Khan was arrested thanks to “quick action” by Canadian law enforcement.
The department alleged in a news release that Khan intended to use “automatic and semi-automatic weapons” in a shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn.
It said he was arrested in or around Ormstown, Que., on his way to New York.
He was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization.
The RCMP said it conducted an investigation into Khan in partnership with the FBI and, “that as his actions escalated, at no point in time was Khan an immediate threat prior to his arrest.”
It said Khan was to appear in the Superior Court of Justice in Montreal on Sept. 13, and that the U.S. would be seeking extradition.
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said in a statement that “violent extremism” is on the rise around the world, including Canada.
“This planned antisemitic attack against Jewish people in the U.S. is deplorable and there is no place for such ideological and hate-motivated crime in Canada,” he said.
The U.S. complaint against Khan says that starting around July, he told undercover officers of his intention to to carry out mass shootings at Jewish religious centres in the U.S.
It alleges he told the officers of his desire to create “a real off-line cell” of the Islamic State, directing them to obtain assault rifles and ammunition and “some good hunting [knives] so we can slit their throats.”
Oct. 7 was chosen as the date for the attack because there would likely be protests, the complaint says, while the Oct. 11 Yom Kippur holy day was also considered.
It says undercover officers told Khan last month they had secured weapons and, at 5:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Khan got in a vehicle in Toronto and set off for Napanee, Ont., picking up “additional passengers on the way.”
In Nepanee, they switched to a second car and drove to Montreal, where Khan and an “unidentified female” changed vehicles again, with another person at the wheel, the complaint says.
At 2.54 p.m., about 19 kilometres from the U.S. border, the vehicle was stopped by police and Khan was arrested.
The complaint alleges Khan wrote last week: “If we succeed with our plan, this would be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11.”
“The defendant was allegedly determined to kill Jewish people here in the United States, nearly one year after Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
“This investigation was led by the FBI, and I am proud of the terrific work by the FBI team and our partners to disrupt Khan’s plan.”
