Muhammad Shahzeb Khan has pleaded guilty to plotting a terrorist attack. (RCMP photo)

A Mississauga student who plotted to kill Jews in New York City has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in the U.S.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 21, a citizen of Pakistan, entered Canada as a foreign student and was living in Mississauga before trying to travel stateside, where he intended to carry out his deadly plan in the fall of 2024 on behalf of ISIS.

Jewish community groups in Brooklyn were his target, and the plot was to be carried out on Oct. 7 to mark the first anniversary of Hamas attacks on Israel.

Using a human smuggler, he tried to slip into the U.S., but his plan was foiled when he was intercepted by Canadian authorities while attempting to cross from Quebec.

Khan was turned over to American authorities last year to face the terrorism charges.

Today (April 8), Khan pleaded guilty to attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, for trying to enter the United States and carry out a mass shooting with automatic weapons.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 12. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Khan planned to kill as many Jews as possible, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.

“(He) declared that New York City was the ‘perfect’ venue for his attack because of its large Jewish population and boasted that his plot could be the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11,” said Eisenberg. “The National Security Division will work tirelessly to ensure that terrorists like Khan face the full weight of American law.”

It is believed he planned the attack while living in Mississauga, where he began posting on social media and communicating with others about his support for ISIS, including distributing ISIS propaganda videos and literature.

“Khan subsequently began planning terrorist attacks in the United States in support of ISIS, by communicating his plans with two individuals who, unbeknownst to Khan, were undercover officers,” according to information supplied by the United States Attorney’s Office. “Kahn told the (undercover officers) that he and a U.S.-based associate had been planning to carry out a terrorist attack in a particular U.S. city using AR-style assault rifles to ‘target’ Israeli Jewish chabads.”

Chabad is a branch of Hasidic Judaism, as well as a movement that operates Jewish religious and educational institutions around the world.

 


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