Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Pakistani Student Pleads Guilty in ISIS-Inspired Plot to Attack Brooklyn Jewish Center

The case highlights cross-border undercover policing that foiled a hate-driven plot rooted in online ISIS propaganda.

Overview

  • Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 21, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Manhattan to attempting to commit terrorism transcending national boundaries, with sentencing set for Aug. 12, 2026.
  • Prosecutors say he planned a mass shooting at a prominent Brooklyn Jewish center on the Oct. 7 anniversary with the stated goal of killing as many Jews as possible.
  • Charging papers describe months of chats with undercover officers where he pushed for AR-style rifles and knives, identified locations, shared photos, and wrote that he was going to New York to slaughter Jews.
  • He was arrested Sept. 4, 2024, near Ormstown, Quebec after hiring a human smuggler to reach the United States, then extradited in June 2025 through FBI and RCMP coordination with the NYPD and Justice Department.
  • In court he cited ISIS propaganda and the war in Gaza as motivation and expressed regret, and officials say the case underscores the threat from self-radicalized actors targeting Jewish communities.