Police Foil Intended Teen Killing Spree

Teens arrested with guns, swords, ammo
18-year-old's dad: 'He's never fired a gun'
Monday, July 7, 2003 Posted: 12:45 PM EDT (1645 GMT)



Matthew Lovett, 18, is taken to a police vehicle.

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Police in New Jersey say the teens were arrested with a mini-arsenal.

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OAKLYN, New Jersey (CNN) -- Three New Jersey teenagers have been charged in an alleged plot to execute three people and then go on a shooting spree, armed with rifles, handguns, swords and more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition, authorities said.

Matthew Lovett, 18, and two other youths, ages 14 and 15, have been charged with conspiracy to commit homicide. They were arrested early Sunday after a report of an alleged hijacking attempt in Oaklyn, a Philadelphia suburb, according to Oaklyn Police Chief Chris Ferrari.

The driver of the vehicle managed to drive off and alert police, who then drove back and found the youths, police said.

Lovett's father on Monday told CNN that his son was a "homebody" who has never fired a gun. Ron Lovett said the firearms his son was arrested with all came from his collection. "He never once let on like he was interested in firing a gun," Lovett said.

Ferrari said the teens had strapped rifles and shotguns to their backs and tucked handguns in their waistbands. They were carrying 3-foot swords and knives, along with satchels of ammunition, he said.

"Thankfully, we were able to thwart it before anyone got hurt," Ferrari said.


Authorities say three teenagers were heavily armed.
Matthew Lovett also has been charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and carjacking, according to Camden County prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi. The two juveniles also have been charged with carjacking and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Sarubbi said.

"They had developed this plan where they were gong to execute three individuals in Oaklyn that they had identified and then continue on through the evening until they ran out of ammunition in a series of random killings throughout the town," Sarubbi said.

"This could have been a potentially horrendous situation where many lives could have been jeopardized."

Sarubbi said an initial check shows the firearms were legally obtained and were properly registered.

Ron Lovett told CNN his son was voted "most bashful" by his high school classmates and recently graduated "with four As on his report card."

"He's never fired a gun, and I don't think he would know what ammunition to put in what chamber ...," Lovett said. "I've never trained him. I never had time to take him out to shoot, and he was just never interested in guns, and I was glad that he wasn't."

Lovett said he kept handguns in a locked box and rifles in a closet. Most of the ammunition was more than 20 years old, he said, left over from days when he used to practice target shooting. He said the large quantity of ammunition police reported finding most likely came from 500-round packs of .22-caliber target bullets.

"A couple of those, and you're up to 1,000 rounds," he said.

Matthew Lovett was being held Sunday night at the Camden County Correctional Facility, and the minors were being held at a juvenile detention center.

The teens went to two area high schools, Collingswood and Haddon Heights, Ferrari said. Lovett was a recent graduate of one of the schools, he said.

 

I think that the guns were an aspect...but there is a thread in the D&D for this aspect. Also, it was 3 loner punks...