Police say a high school senior water gun elimination game to celebrate the end of the school year could become a public safety issue.
The "Senior Assassin" game consists of students shooting at each other with water guns. If a student is hit, they are out of the game. To win, one has to be the last person standing out of all high school senior classmates.
The water gun game, which became popular the last few years because of social media, has other rules. One is that the game happens out in the community, out in the streets and in yards, and never at school.
Several local students, including Washingtonville High School senior Lily Chicaita, say they know the game annoys some neighbors and police. "It's senior year. Everybody's crazy. Everybody wants to do something fun, and they're just trying to take away from us, and I don't really understand it," Chicaita says.
Students will hide and wait for that perfect opportunity to jump out of nowhere and ambush one of their friends. It's all in good fun, but sometimes it creates a scene.
In Goshen, the police chief warned the community in a statement that reads, "This activity, when conducted in uncontrolled public spaces, could cause public alarm, citizen intervention and 911 calls, generating a police response and causing a public safety issue."
"We used to use water guns when we were little," says Roxanne Brand, owner of 22 West Gift Shop. She says she loves the game and does not expect any students to go overboard and make neighbors think a real crime is happening.
"I'm OK with it, as long as like, that they wear bright clothes and the guns are brightly colored and there's no mistaking it for anything else, I think it's harmless fun," Brand says.
Still, Goshen police have joined several other departments nationwide in asking students in their communities to call this game off. The departments want to completely avoid the possibility of the game being misconstrued for something else.
The superintendent of the Goshen School District also put out a statement asking parents and students to consider the safety of any activity. The superintendent adds that "Senior Assassin" is not a district-supported game.