After a lockdown was put in place at a high school and teens were arrested at gunpoint at the beginning of May, Guelph police are following in the footsteps of many police departments in the U.S. by issuing a warning to students about playing the “senior assassin” game.
“The popular game known as ‘Senior Assassin’ involves high school students competing to eliminate fellow participants by shooting them with water guns or other projectiles within a specified time period,” police said in a release.
The service then noted that the game is not just played during school hours but after hours as well.
Guelph police said one of the main issues is that the weapons used in the game often look realistic, which creates concern for others in the community, including some who are playing the game, and police can be called in.
That is what happened on May 1, when a high school in Guelph was placed on lockdown briefly as officers responded after it was reported that teens with guns were inside a car outside the school.
The officers then arrested one of the boys at gunpoint, as well as two others.
Police say the trio were warned for possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and will complete an educational diversion program through the John Howard Society rather than face charges.
The incident in Guelph is not the only one police have been forced to deal with, as there have been several reported throughout the U.S. in recent months.
In Texas, a high school senior fell out of the back of a Jeep last month while playing the game and hit his head. He remains in hospital on life support, according to CBS News.
And in Florida in February, a police officer shot an 18-year-old in the arm after a group of young people were spotted lurking around a car in the dark, according to NewsNation affiliate WFLA.
“The homeowner was alerted,” Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said. “There’s some people in her driveway, so she did what most would do, go check it out. And unfortunately, one of the students has a water pistol, but it looks like a gun in the dark, you can’t tell the difference.”
The officer, who was off-duty at the time, responded to the call and shot an 18-year-old in the arm. Police said he is expected to make a full recovery.
Last year, there were also issues in Ontario’s Halton Region, as police reported seven incidents in a one-week period in which residents reported seeing young people with firearms on school grounds and residential streets.
Const. Ryan Anderson told Global News the assassin game had escalated across the area, and had led to a couple of teens being charged in Georgetown.
“This year we’re seeing a lot of guns that look like Glock-style handguns, and obviously members of our public are concerned when they’re seeing this,” Anderson said.