Trending 'Senior assassin' game draws stark warnings from police nationwide: 'dangerous misunderstandings'
Law enforcement and school leaders nationwide are warning students against playing a trending game that they worry could end in tragedy.
"Senior Assassin" is a game played mostly by soon-to-be high school graduates that involves stalking and eliminating one another in water gun fights on their school campuses. Large groups of students often play the game on school and private property, attempting to avoid being sprayed with water by their opponents. The last dry player is declared the winner.
But police say the game wastes resources and could have severe unintended consequences.
"Every year, police departments receive 911 calls from concerned community members reporting suspicious behavior—only to discover it is related to this game," the Lower Makefield Police Department in Yardley, Pennsylvania recently wrote on their Facebook page. "Additionally, toy guns, water guns, and replica weapons can easily be mistaken for real firearms, causing fear, panic, and potentially dangerous misunderstandings."
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Last year, an 18-year-old high school student in Jacksonville, Florida was shot by an off-duty Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) agent who mistook the student and two friends for potential intruders on his property. Fortunately, the student survived the incident, but police warned at the time that the game is "potentially deadly."
After that incident, Florida officials called on parents to stop their children from playing the game.
The Fremont Police Department in California recently posted a similar warning on its Instagram account.
"While the game involves only fake weapons, it has become a safety concern and can lead to high-risk patrol and traffic stops," the department said. "Some students have chosen to use toy guns that look realistic to the public and to our officers, and the behavior associated with this game has caused public concern due to the belief that participants are carrying real weapons and acting suspiciously. This creates a dangerous situation and diverts emergency 9-1-1 and police resources, since officers take every report of gun violence and suspicious firearm use seriously."
An instance of the game played by middle schoolers at Anza Trail School in a suburb of Tucson, Arizona earlier this week led to a police investigation, according to KOLD.
A teacher saw a student with a water gun, mistook it for a real gun, and called 911. Police contacted the boy's parents, who told them where they could find him.
"The investigation revealed the juvenile had brought an Orbeez-style toy as part of an end-of-the-year prank known as Senior Assassin," the Sahuarita Police Department reportedly said. "Additionally, officers located the toy gun and confirmed it was not an actual firearm and was not loaded with any sort of projectiles."
"The Sahuarita Police Department takes these types of reports very seriously and truly appreciates the community for reporting suspicious activity."