American who plotted thwarted Canadian rampage gets life in prison

April 20 (UPI) -- A Chicago-area woman convicted of planning a thwarted mass shooting in a Canadian mall was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.

Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath, 26, plotted the attempted mass shooting with two Canadians. Two shooters would then use rifles and Molotov cocktails to kill people at a Halifax food court on Feb. 14, 2015.

Police were able to stop the deadly plot after receiving a tip from Crime Stoppers a day before the shooting spree was set to occur.

Souvannarath, who reportedly expressed interest in school shootings like the 1999 Columbine massacre and Nazism, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in 2015.

She declined to say anything in court Friday prior to sentencing.

Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Peter Rosinski said Souvannarath would remain a threat to society -- noting the American did not express remorse for her murderous plot nor renounce her ideological motivations for the conspiracy.

Rosinski said he hoped the court sent "a clear message" to people conspiring to kill multiple people that "they will pay a heavy price."

James Gamble, 19, met Souvannarath online and they bonded over their shared fascination with school shootings. Gamble committed suicide as police closed in on his home.

A third Canadian involved in the plot, Randall Steven Shepard, who has been described as a "cheerleader" in the planned massacre, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in November 2016.

The parents of Gamble and Souvannarath were in court for the sentencing hearing.