Suburban Woman Charged In Canada For Alleged Mass Murder Plot
(CBS) -- Police say they stopped an international mass shooting spree with links to a woman from Geneva, Ill.
23-year-old Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath from Geneva and a Canadian man have been charged with plotting a mass shooting. Police say they planned to shoot up a mall in Nova Scotia and then take their own lives.
Souvannarath took a flight from Chicago to Canada and was arrested at the Halifax Airport Friday. Souvannarath, 20-year-old Randall Steven Shepherd of Timberlea, a suburb of Halifax, were each charged with conspiracy to commit murder. A third person was arrested but was released without being charged, police said.
Podcast
Geneva Police say they executed a search warrant Friday evening at the woman's home at the request of the Halifax Regional Police and say that multiple items were taken from the home.
A fourth suspect, 19-years-old, allegedly killed himself after police surrounded him inside a home in Timberlea, a suburb of Halifax. Police say he and the Geneva woman exchanged messages and photos of mass killings online.
"This is an excellent example that demonstrates the value of the Crime Stoppers program," said Novia Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commanding Officer Brian Brennan in a press release. "The information came to us in a timely manner and allowed us to act quickly. We often ask citizens to be our eyes and ears in their communities and it was through one tip that we were able to intercept and eliminate a significant threat, and ultimately save lives."
Officials don't think this is a terrorism threat or culturally motivated.
"I wouldn't characterize it as a terrorist event, I would classify it as a group of individuals that had some beliefs and were willing to carry out violent acts against citizens," said Brennan.
Souvannarath and Shepherd are scheduled to appear in court in Halifax on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
