A Pakistani man was arrested in Canada this week for allegedly planning a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, New York, on the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attacks that ignited the ongoing conflict in Gaza, U.S. federal authorities announced on Friday.
The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, shared his intentions with undercover agents, revealing plans to target a Chabad center in Brooklyn, according to The Times of Israel. This center is a significant location for the Hasidic Jewish sect, Chabad-Lubavitch, which is headquartered there.
NYC TERROR ATTACK FOILD
Terrorist: “Had we pulled this off, it would have been the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.”
Police foiled a major mass shooting plot targeting 770, the Chabad Lubavitch headquarters in NYC, planned for October 7. pic.twitter.com/1DZpv8SOdi
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 9, 2024
According to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Khan attempted to travel to New York City with the explicit objective of “slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible.”
The plot was foiled before Khan could carry out his plan.
Khan was apprehended on Wednesday and has been charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, an organization known for its violent extremist activities.
In his statement, Attorney General Garland emphasized the broader implications of such a plot, stating, “Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack.” His words underscore the ongoing concern about the safety of religious and ethnic communities in the face of rising extremist threats.
Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have more than tripled in the three months since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, according to preliminary data from the Anti-Defamation League.
Axios noted earlier in the year that “cases involving incidents like physical assault, harassment and vandalism, were higher than the total number of antisemitic episodes tracked in almost every year since ADL started monitoring this data in the late 1970s, the group said Wednesday.
The ADL documented 3,283 antisemitic incidents between October 7, 2023, and January 7, the group’s report said. That’s a 360% jump from the same period a year earlier. At least 628 incidents were reported against Jewish institutions such as synagogues and community centers.
The report said 505 incidents occurred on college campuses, and another 246 were reported in K-12 schools. About two-thirds of the reported incidents could be directly related to the Israel-Hamas war, the ADL report said.“
The attacks of only been bolstered by Biden and his party, validating some of the worst impulses of the left’s antisemitism. In August, for example, Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee, was found to have a close relationship with a radical imam in Minnesota who has justified violence against Jews.
