'Assassin' Game Caused Police Response, School Lockout: Officials

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — It was just as school officials had warned: someone unfamiliar with the perennially-played squirt-gun game called "Senior Assassin" saw someone near Paul D. Schreiber High School with a gun Wednesday afternoon and called police.

The Port Washington high school was put on lockout as police responded to a parking lot near Schreiber.

"We received a call of a man with a gun in a parking lot near the campus," Assistant Chief Kevin McCarroll told Patch. Department officials dispatched officers and notified the district. It was near dismissal time, and they didn't want a sudden influx of students into a potentially dangerous situation, he said.

The nationally popular social media trend involves students stalking and trying to "eliminate" each other with water guns. SEE: Teen 'Assassin' Game Leads To 911 Calls In Montgomery County. The game can involve water pistols that look like real guns and participants hiding on private property.

A month ago, Schreiber High School Principal Kati Behr sent out an email about the game and asking parents to discourage it.

After Wednesday's emergency, she sent another message:

Dear Students and Parents,
At the beginning of May, we sent an email outlining the dangers of participating in the game Senior Assassin. This game involves students engaging in risky behaviors to squirt each other with water guns. While it may seem innocent, to community members unfamiliar with the game and the increasing resemblance to real handguns, these acts can cause fear and alarm.
This exact situation occurred yesterday. A water gun designed to closely resemble a handgun was mistaken for a firearm near 16 Handles on Port Boulevard. A concerned community member reported it to the crossing guard, prompting immediate action from the PWPD. They contacted Weber and Schreiber to bring students and staff indoors around 2:35 PM. We operated under a lockout scenario while PWPD investigated. Our building administration, security team, and PWPD worked together to ensure everyone's safety. Normal operations resumed around 2:55 PM once PWPD confirmed it was safe.
Instruction was compromised, the health and safety of more than 2500 students and 400 staff members were potentially impacted, news crews were alerted, and the police were on high alert where a major accident could have taken place because the water gun looked like a real one, complete with a magazine mimicking ammunition storage.
While we are thankful that no one was harmed, this incident could have ended very differently. Participation in Senior Assassin must stop immediately. Earlier this year, Nassau County PD reported a similar incident in another school district. The danger has now reached our community and cannot continue. Not this year. Not next year. Never again. In our current climate, the risks are simply too high. Threats involving actual or perceived weapons pose very real dangers to everyone's physical safety. Students participating in such activities with direct impact on the school environment or student welfare also face school-based consequences, as was the case yesterday.
Please speak with your children about the dangers of participating in Senior Assassin and strongly discourage any continuation of this activity.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Sincerely,

Kati Behr, Ed.D.
Principal
Paul D. Schreiber High School