Pa. Police issue warning about dangers of popular ‘assassination’ high school game

Many high school seniors around the country are spending the end of their school days playing a “senior assassination” game involving water pistols. But at least one Pennsylvania police

department is warning that although these games have not cropped up in the area, they could result in deadly consequences for the students involved. The Northern Lancaster County Regional

Police Department said that this growing trend could result in officers responding to a call about possible shooters in neighborhoods. In the “senior assassination” game, high school

students separate into teams after school and are assigned targets to hit using water guns that sometimes resemble real firearms. This has resulted in cases of teenagers dressing in dark

clothing and sneaking through neighborhoods with these water guns while playing the game. NLCRPD said that although they are unaware if the game is being played inside their jurisdiction,

they wanted to educate the community in case the issue crops up. The game is played all across the country, and Urban Dictionary places its origins at Salem High School in Virginia Beach,

Virginia. One instance of the game at Turlock High School in Turlock, Calif., resulted in an altercation that broke one senior’s jaw and landed another in prison. Another instance of the

game in El Paso, Texas, resulted in a group of Canutillo High School seniors being placed on in-school suspension after the game scared other students. NLCRPD said that while innocent in

intent, bystanders who witness high schoolers sneaking around their neighborhoods could regard these actions as suspicious and call the police. And when police officers respond to those

types of calls, they “always engage in the unknown.” “When encountering a person in the dark, who is wearing dark clothing, and carrying what appears to be a firearm, [it] requires an

appropriate response,” NLCRPD said. “Determining the intentions of the ‘suspect’ and the difference between a real firearm and a replica water gun at that moment can be life-altering.”

NLCRPD encouraged the community to follow officers’ instructions to minimize risk and maximize safety for everyone involved. “Exhibiting or mimicking behaviors associated with criminal,

confrontational, or violent behavior with a weapon could be perceived to be a life-threatening situation and result in an unwanted and/or catastrophic outcome,” NLCRPD said. _©2023 Advance

Local Media LLC. Visit pennlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC._ Originally Published: April 28, 2023 at 5:39 PM EDT