Lords of Chaos (group)
| Founded by | Kevin Foster, Pete Magnotti, Chris Black |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Fort Myers, Florida |
| Years active | April 13, 1996 – May 3, 1996 |
| Membership (est.) | 8 |
| Criminal activities | Arson, murder |
The Lords of Chaos was a self-styled teen militia formed on April 12, 1996, in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. They gained notoriety for a crime spree that ended with the April 30, 1996 murder of one of the boys' teachers, Mark Schwebes, who served as Riverdale High School's band director.
The Lords of Chaos predate the more notorious Columbine High School massacre in Colorado by three years. The case has been widely documented, most notably in Jim Greenhill's true crime book about the case, Someone Has to Die Tonight. It is also the subject of a Dateline NBC special, When A Killer Calls, as well as being mentioned in Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground by Michael Moynihan & Didrik Søderlind, the book even borrowing the group's name.
On April 12, 1996, in Fort Myers, Florida, Kevin Foster, Pete Magnotti and Chris Black went on a vandalism and arson spree. Florida juvenile records show that only the group's ringleader, Kevin Foster, had any prior arrests or criminal history, and his record primarily consisted of driving violations. The first spree was quickly followed by a second that included an attempt to burn a church bus and the burning of a bird cage containing two macaws, killing one.
After the night of destruction, Foster decided that they should form a militia dedicated to raining terror upon the community. The creation of the group's symbol ( (Ø) ) came from an in-joke involving a question Foster missed on a math test. The symbol for the null or empty set is either { } or Ø. On the test, Foster wrote ( Ø ) as the answer to a question whose answer was no set, thereby having it marked incorrect.
Kevin "God" Foster, Pete "Fried" Magnotti, Chris "Slim" Black and Derek "Mob" Shields made up the core members of the Lords of Chaos. The group also included lesser associates Chris "Red" Burnett, Thomas "Dog" Torrone, Brad Young, and later Craig Lesh.
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