A Pakistani citizen has been arrested in Quebec as he was allegedly about to cross the border to carry out an ISIS terrorist attack targeting Jews in New York City.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was arrested in Ormstown, Que. on Wednesday afternoon after driving from Toronto. He also goes by the name Shahzeb Jadoon.
U.S. authorities said Friday he was plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Oct. 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 in Israel.
“Khan was allegedly in the process of planning a deadly attack targeting Jewish citizens in the United States,” the RCMP said in a statement.
Although he was initially arrested on three terrorism charges, he was then re-arrested on a U.S. extradition warrant and is scheduled to appear in court in Montreal on Sept. 13.
U.S. officials identified Khan only as a Pakistani citizen residing in Canada. His immigration status remains unclear. The Canada Border Services Agency directed questions about the matter to the RCMP.
He told an undercover officer last month about a foiled “ISIS attack here in Toronto,” suggesting he was living in the city.
The case comes amid both a spike in antisemitism and a resurgence of ISIS.
“The news of threats to the Jewish community is alarming,” the RCMP said. “We will not tolerate any form of threats, harassment or violence targeting Jewish communities.”
“The RCMP continues to work in collaboration with our domestic and international partners to detect, investigate and disrupt criminal acts that are targeting Jewish Communities.”
According to an unsealed U.S. criminal complaint, Khan began expressing his support for ISIS on social media and messaging applications last November.
In exchanges with two undercover officers and an FBI informant, he allegedly said he wanted to join the ISIS branch in West Africa and send money to ISIS-K in South Asia.
Two months ago, he began discussing a “coordinated assault” targeting Jewish community buildings. The plot involved “mass shootings at or around Jewish religious centers and public gathering places,” the FBI said.
“Khan also provided details about how he would cross the border from Canada into the United States to conduct the attacks,” the Justice Department said.
On Aug. 20, Khan decided the attack would take place in New York City, specifically at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, and urged the undercover officers to acquire AR-15 rifles.
He claimed New York was “perfect to target jews” because it has the “largest Jewish population In America,” the U.S. officials said.
Even if the attack did not target a specific event, he wrote that “we could rack up easily a lot of jews,” adding, “we are going to nyc to slaughter them.”
He allegedly wrote that “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest Attack on US soil since 9/11,” referring to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Khan appeared to have given the plot significant thought, suggesting it take place “indoors in a confined space” so law enforcement would be less likely to stop it.
On Wednesday, police followed him as he left Toronto at 5:40 a.m. with an unidentified passenger and went by car to Napanee, Ont.
They switched vehicles and made their way to Montreal, where they again changed vehicles before heading towards the border. The arrest took place at 2:54 p.m.
A witness wrote on Twitter that an RCMP tactical team in Ormstown, Que. had used a stun grenade to arrest a man in a minivan with Ontario licence plates.
The U.S. has charged Khan with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
“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.
B’nai Brith Canada said federal officials and police had briefed the group about the incident, and called for an investigation into how Khan entered the country.
“We demand immediate government action to stop the entry of individuals with extremist views and to prevent further radicalization of those already living here,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith’s director of research and advocacy.
“The security of our nation must come first. Canadian lives are at risk. We cannot continue to allow those who have been corrupted by hate and extremism to threaten the safety of our communities.”
This would not be the first time a foreign terror suspect has attempted to cross the border to carry out a terrorist attack in the United States.
A failed refugee claimant living in Montreal, Ahmed Ressam, was caught at the British Columbia-Washington State border in December 1999.
An Algerian trained in Afghanistan, Ressam was on his way to bomb Los Angeles International Airport when U.S. border officials arrested him.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca