High school “Senior Assassins” tradition raising some concern about safety

TOWN OF MANLIUS, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — “Senior Assassins” is a high school senior tradition for many and one that caught the attention of the Town of Manlius Police.

“So, from what we understand this game has been going on for years and years. It is where a group of students, typically seniors, agree to participate in the game and get assigned a list of other students to assassinate, and it’s using water guns or nerf guns,” Rebecca Kammar, a Town of Manlius Police Officer, said.

Essentially, a big game of tag, but one that can create chaos in some neighborhoods and lead to 911 calls.

“Don’t trespass on people’s property. Kids may have agreed to play the game, but that doesn’t mean their families did or that their families are aware. And if you are playing the game, make sure your family knows,” Kammar said.

Water guns aren’t always bright and colorful. Now, there are some water guns that resemble real guns. This becomes a problem especially when players are hiding in the dark behind a bush or a tree holding something that looks like a real gun to a neighbor who doesn’t know that the “Senior Assassin” game is going on.

“Make sure that your water guns look like water guns. Don’t use anything that someone could mistake for a real weapon. We just want to make sure that everyone playing it stays safe and the community stays safe while they’re playing it,” Kammar advised.

Another new element to the tradition is an app players are using. The app makes it more accessible for players to join and it tracks players locations.

“So, be aware that when you agree to this app you are sharing your location with all of the people playing the game, which adds the concern of who is playing the game. Do you know everyone you are agreeing to play with and share your location with?” Kammar said.

Kammar advises that parents talk with their kids to see if they’re playing.

“If you have a safety talk about appropriate times and places and reminding them that if people agree to play the game, there are certain limits,” she said. “You don’t want to be scaring people, you don’t want to scare neighbors or doing things in an area that may cause public alarm. Just make smart choices about where you’re going to do it.”

It’s a game of fun but needs to be played smartly or else it could turn into trouble.

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