An American woman who conspired to shoot shoppers in a Canadian mall in 2015 will spend the rest of her life behind bars.
Lindsay Souvannarath, 26, received the life sentence on Friday after pleading guilty last year. She will be eligible for parole in seven years, the Canadian Press reported.
Souvannarath, who hails from Geneva, Illinois, took part in the plan to open fire at the Halifax Shopping Centre food court in February 2015 with accomplices James Gamble and Randall Shepherd.
Gamble killed himself at the time of his arrest while Shepherd was sentenced to 10 years in 2016.
Authorities intervened after receiving an anonymous tip and arrested Souvannarath at the Halifax airport.
Justice Peter Rosinski of the Nova Scotia supreme court said that Souvannarath, who is of Laotian descent, is and will remain a threat to public safety. He added that she has not expressed remorse for her doing, the Associated Press noted.
When asked if she would like to address the court before the sentencing, Souvannarath replied, “I decline.”
According to Reuters, Gamble and Shepherd were childhood friends in Halifax and met Souvannarath — who ran a Tumblr blog called “School Shooter Chic” — online.
Apparently, all three supported the two teenagers behind the killing of 12 students and a teacher in Columbine, Colorado, in 1999, and shared a general obsession with death, mass shootings and Nazi imagery.
“Ms. Souvannarath’s intention was to kill more than the 13 people who suffered that fate at the Columbine High School shooting,” Judge Rosinski wrote.
It was also revealed that the three intended to cause mass panic and undermine the public’s sense of security.
“They intended to maximize dead and wounded casualties,” Judge Rosinski wrote. “That they intended to be mocking, callous and brutal in their treatment of potential victims they encountered is an aggravating factor.”
Souvannarath’s sentence was reportedly shaped by principles applicable to terrorism offenses.
