Toronto man accused of plotting terror attack at Jewish centre in New York City

A Toronto-area man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to illegally enter the U.S. to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish Centre in New York City.

News releases issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice and the RCMP identified the accused in the case as 20-year-old Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, who investigators say also goes by Shahzeb Jadoon.

Khan was arrested Wednesday in the town of Ormstown, Que., about 60 kilometres south of Montreal. U.S. authorities described him as a Pakistani citizen residing in Canada.

"The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around October 7th of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible," said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, in a statement.

"Thanks to the investigative work of the FBI, and the quick action of our Canadian law enforcement partners, the defendant was taken into custody."

The RCMP said Khan was arrested in Canada on suspicion he was:

• Attempting to leave Canada to commit an offence for a terrorist group.
• Participating in the activities of a terrorist group.
• Conspiracy to commit an offence by violating U.S. immigration law – entering or attempting to enter the U.S. unlawfully.

Though he has not been formally charged with those offences in Canada, Khan does face a charge in the U.S. of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely ISIS.

RCMP officials said in a news release that "we can reassure the public that as his actions escalated, at no point in time was Khan an immediate threat prior to his arrest."

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme also said in a statement that "violent extremism in all its forms" is on the rise worldwide, and Canada is not immune to the problem.

"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," Duheme said. "We are committed to keeping all Canadians safe and ask for the support of all Canadians to help prevent such threats."

In a statement posted on X, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the arrest was "the product of strong partnership" between the RCMP and FBI.

"Jewish Canadians and Jewish Americans deserve to be safe in their communities," LeBlanc said. "We, along with our law enforcement agencies, are working tirelessly to ensure all Canadians' safety."

Khan is slated to appear in Superior Court in Montreal on Sept. 13.

Accused allegedly spoke to undercover officers

Khan is believed to have been heading toward Roxham Road with the intention of illegally entering the U.S., sources say, when he was arrested around 5 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Gale and Church streets.

U.S. authorities allege Khan 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 — information police say they gleaned from conversations between the accused and two undercover officers.

Khan began posting on social media and talking with people about his support for ISIS on an encrypted messaging app around November of 2023, according to the news release. Two of those people were undercover agents, the Department of Justice says.

In the midst of those conversations, Khan allegedly said he and a U.S.-based ISIS supporter had been planning an attack in a different, unnamed city, and repeatedly instructed the undercover officers to obtain assault rifles, ammunition, and other materials to carry out their plan.

He allegedly suggested Oct. 7 and Oct. 11 as possible dates for the attack — with the former being the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack that renewed a decades-long conflict with Israel, and the latter being the start of Yom Kippur.

Around Aug. 20, Khan changed his target to the aforementioned Jewish Centre in New York, citing the area's large Jewish population. According to the Department of Justice news release, he allegedly stated: "we are going to NYC to slaughter them."

During one communication, U.S. authorities say, Khan allegedly said: "if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest Attack on US soil since 9/11."

Michel Juneau-Katsuya, former senior manager and senior intelligence officer for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told CBC News he wasn't surprised by news of the arrest.

"People might believe that with the success we had against Daesh or ISIS in the Middle East that we would have got rid of them. But it's on the contrary," he said.

"If I may use the analogy, it's a little bit like using a big baseball bat and hitting a wasp's nest. You killed the nest, you kill a lot of wasps, but now the big bat doesn't help you with the flying wasps around you," he added.

"ISIS has not lost its ability to recruit online. They are capable to sort of foster recruitment, radicalization. And people turn into extremists in the privacy of their home, and when they manifest themselves, it's usually just before they go into action."

WATCH | Retired CSIS intelligence officer on 'increase in ISIS terrorism events globally': 

Toronto man accused of plotting attack on U.S. Jewish Centre | Canada Tonight

3 months ago

Duration 9:16

A Toronto-area man is facing terror charges in both Canada and the United States, authorities say, for allegedly attempting to illegally enter the U.S. to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish Centre in New York City. Neil Bisson, a retired CSIS intelligence officer, says there has been 'an increase in ISIS terrorism events globally,' and that ‘ISIS is making a resurgence.’ Read more: cbc.ca/1.7315604.

Large police presence in small Quebec town

The Department of Justice says Khan used three separate cars to travel toward the U.S. before he was stopped by police in Quebec.

Ormstown resident Elizabeth Henshaw told Radio-Canada that she came home Wednesday to find dozens of police officers outside her home with a man handcuffed on her front lawn and a woman in cuffs on her front porch.

"[The police] said it was confidential and they couldn't tell me what was going on," she said. 

WATCH | Resident describes arrest scene: 

Ontario police on the scene of Quebec arrest, witness says

3 months ago

Duration 0:31

Elizabeth Henshaw, of Ormstown, Que., told Radio-Canada she saw a large police presence around her home on Friday, including officers she says were dressed in tactical gear.

Henshaw said police were also looking through a car that had been stopped on her street before it was eventually taken away.

She said Ormstown is a "very quiet little town," with a population just under 4,000 people, according to Statistics Canada.

"It was very unusual, it was the talk of the town," she said.