Montgomery County Police received multiple urgent 911 calls reporting a potential active shooter at Watkins Mill High School, May 8. 

Concerned parents reported seeing five individuals fighting in the parking lot of Watkins Mill High School, with one person allegedly holding a gun, according to 911 dispatch recordings obtained by the Montgomery County Police. After police arrived at the scene, they determined there was no threat; the students were participating in the game ‘Senior Assassin.’

Senior Assassin is a popular game among high school seniors, often played as a ‘last hurrah’ before graduation. In the game, students pick teams of two and are assigned other players as targets, and the objective is to ‘eliminate’ these targets using water guns. To ensure safety and minimize disruption, the game typically includes rules prohibiting play on school grounds, private property and moving vehicles. 

Whitman resource officer Michael Chindblom has seen troubling incidents where students’ enthusiasm for the game has led to disruptive and unsafe behavior.

“There are ways that Senior Assassin can go too far; we’ve had instances of students running through stores, disrupting businesses and attempting to carjack,” Chindblom said. “If students could keep Assassin isolated and not play in busy public places, there is less opportunity for someone to get hurt. It’s important because when the police department gets these 911 calls, it takes away assets from true emergencies.”

Montgomery County Police have received calls partly due to the realistic appearance of some toy guns. Some manufacturers design fake guns to closely resemble real handguns, while others produce brightly colored versions that look completely harmless. Resemblance of a real weapon can be dangerous, as water guns that look real can be mistaken for actual firearms, and any report of a weapon must be taken seriously. 

Rising juniors and seniors like sophomore Blake Butler and junior Gabby Griffin are excited to participate in the game and believe there are ways to make it safer to avoid extreme consequences such as a ban. Butler says she’d be disappointed if MCPS banned Senior Assassin, and rules such as only using water guns that don’t resemble real firearms could make the game safer. 

Rising senior Gabby Griffin expressed how excited she and her friends are to participate in the game.

 “I’m definitely looking forward to participating in Senior Assassin next year, and the rest of my class is too,” Griffin said. “We’ve seen our friends from older grades do it over the years, and I’ve been looking forward to doing it since I was a freshman.”

Parents have mixed feelings about the game, as familiarity with the game varies from parent to parent.

On May 9, MCPS released a community message to inform more parents about Senior Assassin and encourage parents to discuss the potential risks of the game. In it, they also continued to direct parents to the police in case of an emergency related to the game.

Olivia Easley, the parent of a Whitman senior believes Senior Assassin is a safe game but thinks MCPS staff could take more precautions to ensure all parents are informed.

“My daughter participated in Senior Assassin, and I wasn’t concerned about her safety,” Easley said. “I can see why coming across such a scene without prior knowledge would warrant a call to 911. I think communicating more information about the game to the Whitman community could be helpful in the future.”

While Senior Assassin worries the Montgomery County Police and some parents, senior classes around the county still treasure it.

Many seniors appreciate its role in the Whitman community, including Fredrika Rosen.

“Most water guns are colorful, which helps to distinguish [them] from a real gun. From a distance, it could look like a real gun, but Whitman is implementing a lot of rules to keep it safe,” Rosen said. “Senior Assassin is a really fun game and brings the whole class together and makes some final memories.”