Schools urge students to avoid Senior Assassins water gun game

Officials in the D.C. region and around the country are warning that a game popular among high school seniors that can involve realistic-looking water guns may bring deadly consequences if onlookers unfamiliar with the phenomenon believe there is an actual threat.

Police have already responded to 911 calls and a car crash related to the game around the nation, authorities said, endangering players and those around them.

On Thursday, Montgomery County Public Schools issued a statement warning families about reports of seniors involved in a game called “Senior Assassins.”

In the game of tag, the statement said, seniors squirt one another with water guns before posting these “assassinations” on social media. Once a student is sprayed, according to the statement, they are out of the game. The last dry senior wins.

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“The use of water guns, as they resemble weapons, can cause alarm and lead to unintended situations where someone may feel threatened or scared,” the statement said.

Loudoun County Public Schools raised similar concerns in a recent statement, saying that “the use of realistic-looking weapons and aggressive behavior can cause alarm among community members and law enforcement, who may not be aware of the context.”

“Senior Assassins” is prohibited on Montgomery County Public School grounds, the district said, and anyone who sees students engaged in the game should call the police.

Montgomery County schools said students who play “Senior Assassins” also may “engage in dangerous behaviors such as reckless driving and trespassing, and there are reports of teenagers in public parking lots with water guns.”

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According to media reports, some people in Montgomery County who have seen students playing the game have called 911.

“Some of them look like a real handgun. A lot of them look like a toy gun. But in today’s world, we have gun manufacturers customizing guns so they don’t necessarily look like a traditional gun either,” Cmdr. Eric Stancliff told NBC 4. “The fear is we’re going to have a bad incident where someone gets shot as a result of kids playing a game.”

Montgomery County Police did not return a request for comment Friday.

In its statement last week, Loudoun County schools said students use water guns that “closely resemble real firearms and are hiding on private property.”

“Please understand that this is not a school-sponsored activity in any form,” the statement said. “We strongly discourage students from participating in this game due to the potential risks involved.”

Authorities said adults should discourage students from participating in the games, which has led to incidents in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, among other areas, according to police and media reports.

In the Chicago suburbs, students playing the game while driving were involved in a rollover crash last month, police there said.

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