'Senior assassin' trend: Authorities warn that teen game could have deadly consequences
Police, educators and state officials across the country are getting vocal about a new TikTok trend called "senior assassin" that could get someone injured, or worse, if their toy gun is mistaken for a real one.
The game is meant to be a senior tradition in which two or more high schoolers use water guns to "eliminate" their targets, usually off school grounds.
But some are using paintball and air soft guns, Fox News reports, and the videos of the "hits" are being uploaded to TikTok and other social media platforms for entertainment.
Here's what authorities are saying.
Authorities issue warnings across US on 'senior assassin' trend
Florida: A Florida high school principal sent out a video to parents warning them of the trend's dangers, asserting that any student participating in it on school grounds would face suspension, reported Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Police in Satellite Beach, Florida issued a statement after a flood of 911 calls. "Our officers respond to each of these 911 calls without knowledge of whether this is an incident of students just having fun or an actual crime," Satellite Beach police said, according to Fox News.
Virginia: Educators in Virginia issued similar warnings, telling WRC-TV that "in stressful or high-pressure situations, it can be very difficult to quickly differentiate a toy gun from a real firearm," and that the confusion "can lead to misidentification and potentially tragic consequences."
Illinois: Police in several Chicago suburbs have sent out alerts about the growing trend, WMAQ-TV reported, saying that there have been "concerning incidents," including kids are wearing ski masks and carrying fake weapons that look real.
"An adult, who was a concealed carry holder, in the restaurant mistook the situation for a genuine threat, and the situation could have escalated quickly. The gravity of the situation cannot be emphasized enough; it had the potential to lead to serious consequences," police in the Chicago suburb of Gurnee said in a statement on Facebook.
Michigan: In Michigan, the Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Department and Cheboygan City Police Department issued a joint press release warning residents about the trend.
Instances of students playing the game have resulted in disturbances, such as a student breaking into another student’s home to “tag” them with a paintball gun or a group of students wearing ski masks entering a restaurant to find their opponents and being confronted by a licensed concealed pistol holder, the Cheboygan Daily Tribune, part of the USA TODAY Network, writes. There have been car crashes and more.
“This is very dangerous and eventually the police will be called,” Sheriff Tim Cook said. “This could get someone hurt or killed if another individual believes a person’s life is being threatened and takes action on their own believing they are witnessing some sort of assault with a deadly weapon as some of these toy guns have the appearance of a real firearm.”
Pennsylvania: A Pennsylvania reporter wrote a story for the York Daily Record of her own encounter with the trend.
"I was folding laundry when I heard kids screaming near the area of my backyard," Angel Albring wrote. "I stepped out onto my balcony to see several teenagers crouched down in the alleyway behind my yard. they were all wearing dark clothing and hoodies, hoods, and carrying what looked to be guns from my distance."
Albring realized what was happening quickly, but that may not have been the case, authorities said.
WCAU-TV reported that their state has taken legislative measures ban ski masks in center areas.
Not the first problematic trend
The "senior assassin" challenge is the latest of a long list of problematic trends, the first widely recognized challenge being the Benadryl challenge in 2020, in which kids were drinking more than the recommended amount in order to hallucinate, USA TODAY previously reported.
The "slap your teacher" challenge had schools speaking out and students facing suspensions in 2021, and a 12-year-old boy from Oklahoma died after participating in the "blackout challenge" which had kids choking themselves until they passed out.
Earlier this year, the Senate held a hearing addressing the harmful effects of social media use on America's youth. In the crowd stood Todd Minor, father to 12-year-old Matthew Minor, who lost his life after being exposed to a video on TikTok of a "choking challenging" trend, which falsely claimed "kids can safely choke themselves," Todd Minor shared with USA TODAY.
"Congress must hold these companies accountable for the lives they have ended and destroyed," Minor said at the hearing.
Contributing: Jillian Fellows of the Cheboygan Daily Tribune and Angel Albring of the York Daily Record