The Halifax mass shooting plot was an event that chiefly occurred between February 12, 2015, to February 14, 2015. Police were alerted to three people, identified as Lindsay Souvannarath, Randall Shepherd, and James Gamble, who were reportedly conspiring to commit a mass killing at the Halifax Shopping Centre. Souvannarath and Shepherd were arrested and convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, while Gamble was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Details
On February 12, 2015, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, received a tip through Crime Stoppers that three persons were planning to commit a mass killing at the Halifax Shopping Centre. Two of the suspects, Randall Steven Shepherd, 20, of Timberlea, and Lindsay Kanittha Souvannarath, 23, from Geneva, Illinois, had access to firearms and presented a threat. In the early morning of February 13, police staked out Gamble's duplex house in Timberlea, a small suburb outside of Halifax. After both of Gamble's parents had left the house and been questioned by police, police entered the house and found the third plot suspect, 19-year-old James Gamble, deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Also found in the house were three rifles. At the same time, the police arrested Souvannarath and Shepherd at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Shepherd was meeting Souvannarath, Gamble's online girlfriend, as she arrived from the United States. A 17-year-old from Cole Harbour was arrested at 11am, but was shortly thereafter released from custody due to determination that he had no idea of, nor involvement in the plot. The police learned that it was the trio's intention to go into a public venue and open fire, attempting to kill as many people as possible, before turning the guns on themselves on February 14. The venue was later disclosed as the Halifax Shopping Centre on Mumford Road. Shepherd and Souvannarath faced charges of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to use weapons for a dangerous purpose, and unlawfully conveying threats through social media.
Suspects
Souvannarath, Shepherd, and Gamble all met on the website Tumblr, where they shared an obsession with death, true crime, heavy metal music, and Nazi imagery. Gamble's blog included imagery of Nazis and the Columbine High School massacre, along with pictures of guns from World War II, and Shepherd's contained death metal audio tracks and gore, whereas on Souvannarath's blog, headlined with, "School Shooter Chic; violence is the aesthetic," she made many allusions to events of mass murder and mayhem in the month of February and as early as several months beforehand, interspersed with anti-Semitic comments in juxtaposition with posts of photo sets of Japanese fashion on her pastel-pink background. On February 5, 2015, Gamble reblogged a photo Souvannarath posted on Tumblr saying "Valentine's Day, it's going down", hinting to the would-be shooting.
Charges
As of February 19, 2015, Shepherd and Souvannarath faced charges of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit arson, illegal possession of weapons for dangerous purposes against the public, and making threats over social media. They appeared in court on March 6, but did not seek bail. Preliminary court proceedings continued on April 10. On November 22, 2016, Shepherd plead guilty at Nova Scotia Supreme Court on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, less 974 days for time served. Souvannarath was expected to go to trial in May 2017 on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit arson, but instead pleaded guilty in April. On April 20, 2018, she was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for ten years. Souvannarath appealed her sentence, arguing it was "flawed and manifestly harsh and excessive", however the appeal was denied on May 29, 2019.
While serving a life sentence for her role in the Halifax Mass Shooting Plot, Souvannarath broke the silence she has maintained since her arrest by appearing on The Night Time Podcast, a Halifax-based podcast focusing on Canadian crime, mysteries, and offbeat stories. In the seven part podcast series Souvannarath spoke candidly about her life, her neo-Nazi radicalization, her relationship with James Gamble, the planning of the shooting plot , and the events surrounding her arrest at the Halifax airport.
