Man accused of plotting shooting at New York Jewish centre extradited to U.S.

The U.S. Justice Department says a Pakistani citizen who was living in Canada has been extradited to New York, where he's accused of plotting to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish centre.

The RCMP arrested Muhammad Shahzeb Khan in Quebec last September.

The Mounties said at the time he was in the process of planning a deadly attack targeting Jewish people in the U.S. and was facing charges in Canada.

He is now charged in the U.S. with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and attempting to commit terrorism that transcends national boundaries.

The 20-year-old is set to appear in a New York court on Wednesday.

The U.S. Justice Department says Khan was planning an "ISIS-inspired mass shooting" around the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2024.

Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that Khan planned to "use automatic weapons to kill as many members of our Jewish community as possible, all in support of ISIS."

The statement said Khan started posting on social media and communicating with people on encrypted messaging apps about his support for ISIS around November 2023.

After he shared ISIS propaganda online, he started communicating with undercover law enforcement officers. He told them he and an American associate, who is not named in the statement, were planning an attack.

The Justice Department statement said Khan told the undercover officers to buy AR-style assault rifles, ammunition and other materials, and he gave them details about how he planned to cross the border.

Last August, he changed his planned target and told the undercover officers he had decided to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn on or around Oct. 7, 2024.

"During one communication, Khan noted that 'if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11,'" the statement said.

Khan tried to reach the U.S. border on Sept. 4, 2024. The Justice Department said he used three separate cars to travel through Canada toward the border and was stopped by Canadian authorities near Ormstown, Que., about 20 km from the border.

The allegations have not been proven in court. If convicted, Khan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.