A man from Pakistan, accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in New York while residing in the Greater Toronto Area, is set to go on trial in spring.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan appeared in the U.S. District court in Manhattan, New York, on Tuesday. Records indicate that his jury trial is scheduled to commence on May 26, 2026. If found guilty, he could face life imprisonment.
The 21-year-old Khan was apprehended by heavily armed officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near a gas station in Ormstown, Quebec, last year. This was after he allegedly paid a human trafficker to assist him in crossing the U.S. border.
Khan is facing two terrorism-related charges in connection with an alleged plan inspired by ISIS to carry out a shooting at an unspecified Jewish center in Brooklyn around the anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Earlier this year, after being extradited to the U.S., Khan pleaded not guilty.
According to immigration records disclosed by a Canadian parliamentary committee, Khan was granted a study permit in April 2023 and arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport the following June.
His file did not raise any red flags in the federal immigration department’s security assessment, hence it was not forwarded for further scrutiny by intelligence agencies such as CSIS or the Canada Border Services Agency.
“We will pursue legal action against this individual to the maximum extent,” stated U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi in June.
CBC News previously highlighted how Khan’s online activities, conducted under the pseudonym “Shahzeb Jadoon,” drew the attention of an FBI informant in October 2023, just four months after he relocated to the Toronto vicinity.
In an encrypted chat, Khan allegedly stated, “If we succeed with our plan, this would be the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.”
As per evidence presented in Quebec Superior Court during the extradition process, Khan had requested potential accomplices to procure hunting knives, camouflage attire, tactical vests, AR-style rifles, and “900 rounds of ammunition and 10 magazines each.”
Simultaneously, a self-proclaimed immigration advisor in Mississauga, Ontario, mentioned that Khan was in the process of seeking refugee status in Canada based on his sexual orientation.
“He claimed to be homosexual,” revealed Fazal Qadeer in an interview with CBC News last year.
In February, Khan informed the Quebec court that he had consented to extradition to face trial in New York.
“Brothers … we are going to NYC to slaughter them,” allegedly wrote Khan.