Dashcam video shows the moment a Wisconsin police officer responding to a report of a burglary discovered the suspect is actually a teen playing a popular “senior assassin” game. And the harrowing moment sparked a warning from the officer to the teen.
The situation began in Delafield, Wisconsin, west of Milwaukee, when a mother called police and said someone was attempting to enter her home while she was inside with her children.
Security footage from the home showed someone wearing a black hoodie attempting to gain entry to their home, police said.
As the first officer arrived, police said he found someone wearing all black “crouched next to a building on the property.”
“This subject was holding something…a squirt gun,” the Delafield Police Department wrote on social media.
In dashcam footage, the officer can be heard shouting at the suspect to “put it down” before saying “that was dumb.”
The teen then appears with his hands in the air walking out from the side of the home.
At one point during the encounter, the officer shared a lesson with the teen suspect.
“I know you didn’t mean to, but that barrel came towards me,” the officer said. “You want to know, that’s how you get shot over something stupid.”
The game, often played by high school students nationwide in the springtime, involves students chasing each other with water, NERF-style or realistic-looking guns. It is typically played outside of school hours and away from school grounds in residential neighborhoods, with students sometimes trespassing or hiding on private property to capture a target.
An Indiana teen is facing felony charges after he allegedly participated in a “senior assassin” game, prompting worried 911 calls. Charlie Wojciechowski has the story.
The game has been at the center of numerous warnings across northern Illinois and the Chicago area this spring already.
Numerous suburban police departments and villages sent out messages and warnings in recent weeks about the dangers of the game, which they say could lead to real harm.
In one case in northwest Indiana, a teen playing the game is facing felony intimidation charges. Another incident in a northwest Chicago suburb put an elementary school on lockdown.
The Delafield department said while it supports “kids being kids and having fun in their youth” and even “a good prank,” “we do not support this.”
“NerfWars, Senior Assassin and other similar games can be done safely and responsibly. The behavior this morning will not be tolerated and endangers the safety of those participating as well as the officers and public as they respond to the reports of a possible crime in progress,” the department wrote on social media. “If you are participating in these types of events we ask that you be safe and respectful.”
They urged anyone trying to play such games to avoid entering any property without permission, to notify people inside your own home if you are participating in such events “and whether you have allowed others to come to your home,” and to call police if someone confronts you while doing it.
“Drop all items you are carrying and explain the situation,” the department said. “If you see the police, do not hide, drop anything that may resemble a weapon and comply with any commands.”
