RCMP warns of safety risks tied to high school seniors’ water gun game

A Grade 12 tradition involving toy water guns is prompting safety warnings from school divisions and police. Harrison Shin reports.

If you spot high school students in your neighbourhood armed with water guns and goggles, don’t be alarmed.

Some Grade 12 students at Kelvin High School are playing Senior Assassin—a month-long game where participants eliminate each other with water guns.

“It’s about bringing everyone together and making sure we’re all one whole class before we graduate,” said Matias Lastra, student council president and the game’s organizer. “[It’s about] becoming friends with people you weren’t friends before, talking to kids you haven’t talked to.”

Players use an app called Splashin to track each other’s locations. At Kelvin High School, students paid $5 to enter, with a grand prize of around $700 for the last one standing.

“I go out with my friends, and we just have a good time—driving around the city, trying to hunt down our classmates,” Grade 12 student Olive Adams told CTV News Monday.

The game isn’t without concerns. School administrators and police have weighed in on safety. Sturgeon Heights Collegiate principal George Valentim said playing the game on school grounds is prohibited.

“That said, for students that are playing this game off school grounds, we encourage them to be safe and respectful at all times,” he added.

In a statement, Manitoba RCMP said no local incidents had been reported as of Monday but issued a caution.

“The RCMP would like to remind people that displaying imitation firearms could potentially lead to more serious consequences,” the forces said.

“Displaying a toy or replica firearm in public is extremely dangerous as they are treated as real until proven otherwise. Police response will reflect this.”

For Kelvin High School’s game, rules have been established, such as being respectful to neighbours, only spraying each other on public property and not targeting innocent bystanders.

“For example, the other night, these people were trying to get some friends out that were coming out of the movie theatre,” said Rayne Bryski, another Grade 12 student at the school.

“They didn’t go into the movie theatre to hunt them down—they waited until they left the property so we’re not disturbing businesses, community, families and parents.”

Rayne’s mother, Carla Bryski, said she’s a big fan of the game.

“There have been some examples of some people not playing the game properly or doing the wrong thing, but for the most part, it’s great,” Carla said.

“It’s positive, it gets them outside, off the phones, running around—they’re laughing.”

CTV News has reached out to the Winnipeg School Division and Winnipeg Police Service for comment.