2 accused in alleged Halifax mall shooting plot arrive at court

Lindsay Souvannarath arrives at provincial court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. Souvannarath and Randall Steven Shepherd, of Halifax, are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, allegedly plotting a Valentine's Day mass shooting at the Halifax Shopping Centre. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Tim Krochak) (The Associated Press)

prev next

Randall Steven Shepherd arrives at provincial court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. Shepherd and American Lindsay Souvannarath are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, allegedly plotting a Valentine's Day mass shooting at the Halifax Shopping Centre. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Tim Krochak) (The Associated Press)

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – Two people accused of plotting to open fire in a Halifax shopping mall have been brought to court.

Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath, 23 from Geneva, Illinois, and Randall Steven Shepherd, 20, of Halifax, are charged with conspiracy to commit murder. The two arrived at court Tuesday for what's expected to be a brief appearance.

Souvannarath confessed to the plot when she was arrested at the Halifax airport, a senior police official told The Associated Press.

The official said a third suspect, a 19-year-old man, fatally shot himself early Friday after police surrounded his home in the Halifax suburb of Timberlea.

The suspects used a chat stream and were apparently obsessed with death and had many photos of mass killings, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Associated Press reporter Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this story.