FISHERS, Ind. (WRTV) — A popular tradition for high school seniors has returned to central Indiana, but police remind students to play smart.
Fishers Police Department issued a public safety message about the Senior Assassin game, warning that realistic-looking water guns can lead to dangerous situations.
Fishers police say students can still have fun while making sure the game doesn't put players or the public at risk. They recommend having very bright-colored water guns, avoiding private property, not wearing face masks, and using water guns that are clearly toys.
Senior Assassin is a popular game among students. They often pool money, then shoot at each other with squirt guns. The last one standing gets the cash. Police say it's important for the students to make it obvious it's just a game.
Sgt. Angela Ellison of Fishers Police Department said, "This is happening, it may happen even up until school's finished, so it's still ongoing but we just want people to be vigilant."
Ellison said the public announcement comes after a student playing the game caused alarm after wearing a camouflage ghillie suit while crouching in a ditch holding a water gun that looked like a real gun.
The police department said it has seen incidents where the game has injured people and even become deadly in other communities across the country. "A lot of those come with some sort of orange portion to it, the tip, the trigger, or something, but a lot of times, the kids are removing that. To the average person, this looks like a real handgun, and that is very dangerous. Obviously, it's dangerous for the person who thinks that's their toy gun, but perhaps they've picked up a real gun by mistake," Ellison said.
Ellison said they expect to get calls about suspicious subjects who turn out to be students just playing the game. "If the police come to investigate, stay where you are, let us investigate. Nine times out of 10, everybody is going to be on their way, but if you run, we don't know what's happening, and that can be dangerous."
Ellison encouraged people to call 911 if they see something or someone that looks suspicious.
