Guelph Police warn of dangers of ‘Senior Assassin’ game after teen arrested at gunpoint

A game played by senior high school students could have serious consequences.

The game is known as ‘Senior Assassin.’

“It’s an app-based game for senior high school students,” the Guelph Police Service’s Media Relations Coordinator Scott Tracey said during an interview on Tuesday. “Essentially they sign up for the game, they’re assigned a target, a person they’re supposed to assassinate, and they do that by shooting them typically with water guns or projectiles.”

Participants are considered fair targets at any time of day, not just during school hours.

However, some of the water guns that are being used have sparked concern in the community.

“A lot of the guns that the players of this game are using, they’re very realistic. They’re difficult to distinguish from real firearms, especially at night or in low light settings,” Tracey said.

Police have received calls from concerned people throughout the city.

“Members of the community see these young people going around, brandishing what appear to be real firearms, pointing them outside the window of cars,” he said.

In a news release Tuesday, the Guelph Police Service said a high school was briefly put into lockdown on May 1 after police received a report about teens with guns in a car outside the school. One teen was arrested at gunpoint.

“Through investigation it was determined that they were playing the Senior Assassin game and were armed with very realistic-looking handgun water guns,” Tracey said.

The three teens involved in the incident were cautioned about possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and will have to complete an educational program through the John Howard Society.

In an email to CTV News, the Upper Grand District School Board confirmed the school involved was Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute.

“Our school is taking this situation very seriously, and are asking that families reinforce the messaging that this game be stopped immediately,” an email sent to parents read. “The presence of any kind of weapon is very concerning even when it may be a replica weapon, as they are not easily identifiable as fake.”

Police said officers must treat all weapons calls as legitimate until proven otherwise. That can often prompt a large police response, pulling officers away from other urgent calls.

According to digital anthropologist Giles Crouch, the concept for the game isn’t new, but posting on social media can encourage more people to join in.

“Social media plays a big role in this because it’s social signaling,” he said. “It’s telling their friends and their community that, ‘Okay, this is fun. This is something we’ve all done. I want to show everybody that I’m participating in this social activity.’”

He said parents and guardians need to be aware of what’s happening and communicate with their children.

“It’s really hard because social media changes so quickly. Teenagers are on it much more and they use social media in a very different way from adults. They have a whole different language. So for parents, they’ve really got to be talking to their kids and understanding. What are the latest trends on social media?” Crouch said.

He referred to the game as a trend and said it would likely end by June.

“We understand that it is a fun game and young people want to participate in it,” Tracey said. “We just ask that if they are doing so, that they do so responsibly and that would include using a water gun that is not going to be mistaken for a real firearm. Maybe not using it in circumstances where other members of the public see them or become aware of what they’re doing,” Tracey explained.

Tracey also urged parents to talk to their children about the consequences of playing the game.