A man from Pakistan accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in New York while residing in Toronto is set to go on trial this spring. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 21, appeared in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, with his jury trial scheduled to commence on May 26, 2026. If found guilty, Khan could face life imprisonment.
Khan was apprehended by heavily armed officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near a gas station in Ormstown, Quebec, after allegedly paying a human trafficker to assist him in crossing the U.S. border. He is facing two terrorism-related charges in relation to an alleged ISIS-inspired scheme to carry out a shooting at an undisclosed Jewish center in Brooklyn, planned around the anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Despite being extradited to the U.S., Khan pleaded not guilty earlier this year. Canadian parliamentary committee records indicate that Khan had obtained a study permit in April 2023 and arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport the following June. His immigration file did not raise any red flags in the federal immigration department’s security assessment, and thus did not undergo further scrutiny by intelligence services.
“We will pursue legal action against this individual to the maximum extent permitted by law,” stated U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi in June. An FBI informant initially flagged Khan’s social media activity under the pseudonym “Shahzeb Jadoon” in October 2023, just months after his relocation to Toronto.
In messages on an encrypted chat platform, Khan allegedly detailed plans for a significant attack on U.S. soil and requested potential accomplices to acquire various weapons and ammunition. Concurrently, a self-proclaimed immigration consultant in Mississauga, Ontario, revealed that Khan was in the process of seeking refugee status in Canada based on claims of his sexual orientation.
Khan, who expressed his willingness to be extradited to New York for trial, reportedly made statements indicating violent intentions towards his targets.