Two charged over foiled mass shooting plot in Canada

Ottawa, Feb 15
Two people were charged in connection with a foiled plot to carry out a mass shooting attack on a shopping mall in the Canadian city of Halifax on Valentine's Day, police said Saturday.

Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath, a 23-year-old American, and Randall Steven, a 20-year-old Canadian, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, The Guardian reported.

They are due to appear in a court in Canada Tuesday. It was not immediately clear if Souvannarath would be extradited to the US.

A third suspect, a 17-year-old male was released from custody after it was determined that there was not “enough information or evidence” to charge him in this case, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) commanding officer Brian Brennan.

A fourth suspect, a 19-year-old man, killed himself Friday after police surrounded a residence in Timberlea, a suburb of Halifax. Brennan said police seized three long-barrel rifles from the house.

Earlier Saturday, Canadian federal justice minister Peter MacKay said: “This appeared to be a group of murderous misfits that were coming here, or were living here, and (were) prepared to wreak havoc and mayhem on our community.”

“It would have been devastating. Mass casualties were a real possibility,” he added.

RCMP officials said they received an anonymous tip the day before the attack and acted immediately. Police said they did not know who the caller was, but only that the tip came from Canada.

In spite of providing only a few details, officials were careful to distinguish the planned shooting from a “terrorist” attack.

“This group of individuals, we would not define as a terrorist group,” Brennan said. “They were four individuals (who) had a friendship. Their friendship was not based on culture or ideology. They were four individuals who formed a friendship (and) who decided to plan and commit a heinous crime.”