Police Warn Teens Over 'Assassins' Game

Fremont police told high school seniors to stop playing “Assassins” after the water-gun game triggered dangerous calls and police stops around the city. (patch.com) The Fremont Police Department said the game is usually played off campus by 12th-graders using water guns, Nerf blasters or other toy guns to “eliminate” assigned classmates. Officers said some of the imitation guns look real enough to draw 911 calls. (kron4.com) Police said the activity has already led to high-risk traffic stops and other interventions by patrol officers responding as if the threat were real. The department warned that those calls can pull officers away from actual emergencies. (patch.com) The warning landed in late April, when senior-assassin games typically spread as graduation season nears. Fremont police urged parents to talk with their teens and asked schools to discourage any version of the game that resembles a robbery, assault or shooting. (kron4.com) Police also said the risks go beyond a misunderstanding with neighbors. The department warned students not to trespass, drive recklessly, or bring imitation weapons onto school campuses, where separate discipline or criminal consequences can follow. (hoodline.com) Fremont is not the only city dealing with it this spring. News reports from Indiana and other states said police have issued similar warnings after 911 calls, arrests and cases in which toy guns were mistaken for firearms. (usatoday.com) In one Indiana case, Portage police said a teenager was charged after someone reported a person with what looked like a gun near a Planet Fitness. Police later said the object was a water gun tied to a senior-assassin game. (abc7chicago.com) Fremont police did not describe the game as school-sponsored, and departments around the country have stressed that it usually happens away from campus and outside school hours. In Fremont, the message was simpler: a toy gun in a game can still bring a real police response. (abc10.com)