A Pakistani man accused of plotting an attack on a Jewish center in New York City, in support of ISIS, was residing in Canada on a student visa, according to Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was arrested in Canada last week as he allegedly attempted to cross into the U.S. He now faces charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, a recognized terrorist organization. The U.S. Department of Justice claims that Khan was planning a mass shooting at a Brooklyn Jewish center around October 7, 2024, marking the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack in Israel.
Khan arrived in Canada on a student visa in June 2023, issued a month earlier. By November 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice says Khan began expressing his support for ISIS via encrypted messaging and allegedly shared his attack plans with undercover agents.
While Miller refrained from commenting further due to ongoing criminal proceedings, he stressed Canada’s commitment to security. He remarked, “We take any security threat seriously. A determined individual may enter the country, but our security services are tasked with apprehending such individuals if they pose a risk.”
Canada had issued more student visas during May and June 2023 than in any month since 2019, though the numbers have since decreased as the country seeks to control the influx of international students with a two-year cap introduced in January.
