In the United States, numerous traditions, including senior pranks and proms, are emotionally invested in creating lasting memories with classmates for all those celebrating their final year at high school. However, one such popular choice, increasingly flagged as controversial, is the “Senior Assassin” high school game.
This live-action activity recently sparked concerns again, prompting official warnings from multiple US police departments as graduation season approaches.
As the name suggests, “Senior Assassin” is a game where high school seniors track and “eliminate” or “assassinate” each other using water guns. Participating players, though tasked with soaking their opponents, must avoid being targeted or “eliminated” to continue playing. Though seemingly harmless, the game has prompted police to urge students to think twice before participating.
Police warn students about ‘Senior Assassin’ game
Fears linked to the long-standing high school tradition escalated further due to the recent emergence of its app-driven version. Created by Splashin, it assigns each player a target while offering phone location services to help them track each other. Even its creator urges player safety, mapping out community guidelines that players must agree to before the game begins.
Although the high school tradition dates back to the 1980s, Splashin’s app-driven strategy firmly establishes guidelines for the game. According to its website, “Each player must agree to the guidelines before they can play. The guidelines cover topics such as respecting private property, using clearly recognisable toys, and being respectful of their communities.”
Despite the safeguards in place, the Redding Police Department in California recently issued an advisory, warning players of the water gun game’s potential deadly consequences. While the game has been regarded as a “fun tradition” since the 1980s, Sgt. Brian Berg acknowledged that the general public’s failure to recognise it could result in unprecedented misunderstanding, according to the Redding Record Searchlight.
Addressing the concerns in a Facebook post, authorities said, “Do not trespass, do not run into traffic, and do not approach people in a way that could be mistaken for a real threat.”
Additionally, students were warned to stay off school grounds, businesses, or any area where their seemingly harmless game could trigger a police response, especially because the game involves watergun-wielding “assassins” targeting each other.
“No realistic-looking weapons in public. If someone tells you to leave, leave. If something feels off, walk away,” the social media advisory added, while urging high schoolers to “use common sense and keep it safe.”
When fears became reality
With escalating episodes linked to the water gun game coming to light recently, another incident caused problems in Lawrence, Massachusetts, earlier this month. Two of three high school students running as a group on Hampshire Street were hit with “what appeared to be BB-style projectiles” during a “Senior Assassin” incident, according to Lawrence police.
Posting a photo of the “weapon” on social media, police said, “During the investigation, officers identified a local high school student as a suspect and recovered an Orbeez/gel projectile device believed to have been used in the incident.”
They added, “Investigators determined the incident is linked to a student-organised game referred to as ‘Senior Assassin’ played by graduating seniors throughout the Commonwealth and country, though the victims in this case do not appear to have been participants.”
A teen was ultimately taken into custody and charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.
Last year, WBZ-TV security analyst Ed Davis, a former Boston police commissioner, explained how games involving such guns could instantly lead to serious consequences despite their playful nature. “I have investigated cases where people have pulled BB guns or gel guns and been killed by police,” he said in November 2025, as per CBS News. “If there is a gun being pointed at you, it doesn’t make any difference who is pointing it you’re trained to take lethal force in response to that.”
In a shocking tragedy last year, a student in Texas died of injuries after falling off the back of a moving vehicle while playing “Senior Assassin.” Moreover, the game fuelled misinterpretation during a restaurant incident in 2024.
At the time, a group of seniors wearing ski masks came into a restaurant in Gurnee, Illinois, holding firearm-lookalike water guns. Although they meant to target fellow students inside the eatery and spray water on them, a concealed carry license-holder misconstrued the development as an actual threat, according to an ABC7 Chicago report.
Yet another such incident involving the viral game sparked warnings from authorities in Columbus, Wisconsin, a few days ago. In a Facebook post, the city of Columbus – WI disclosed that someone ended up calling 911 in broad daylight to report a person wearing dark clothing, sunglasses, and a baseball cap, after spotting them walking up the driveway holding what appeared to be a gun.
Determining that the teen was partaking in a “Senior Assassin” prank, Columbus officials said, “While intended as a prank, this potentially put people in danger. Multiple law enforcement officers drove rapidly to a report of a male in a neighborhood, on foot with a gun.”