Livermore police want to see an end to 'Assassin' game

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ByAlan Wang KGO logo
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Livermore police want to see an end to 'Assassins' game
High school students are playing a game called 'Assassins' with Nerf guns, but it's causing some real problems in the community.

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- There's a game that's played by many teenagers in high school. It's called "Assassin," with kids using toy guns to ambush other students. Police want it stopped.

Livermore police say a high school senior accidentally crashed her car into a house while playing a game called "Assassin."

"People get really into it and I guess it's dangerous if you do things without thinking about it," Granada High School senior Austin Albiani said.

Players, mostly seniors, are assigned to stalk and shoot a victim with a Nerf gun. The last person standing wins a cash prize.

"People will go completely out of the way to make sure their target gets killed. They'll chase people down in cars," Livermore High School senior Bailey Hendrickson said.

That's why Livermore police are discouraging students from playing the game. They've received 911 calls regarding reckless driving, prowlers and armed people in the community.

"If it's taken out of context or people walking by don't understand what it is, then it can become a serious problem quickly," Melissa Lowenstein, a student's mother, said.

However, the students say they are being safe and they've even set up rules. You can't play the game on campus and you can't use a gun that look like a real gun. Still, school officials hope the students will rethink the sensitive nature surrounding this game called Assassin.

"I think that if they looked and thought about what's happening in our nation right now with students, kids being killed because of holding replica guns," Livermore High School principal Alberto Solorzano said.

The students we spoke with say the Assassin game will likely continue, but with more caution and sensitivity around others.