Don't Shoot: Livingston Police Say Local Kids Will Play 'Assassin' Game

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Three recent incidents in America have shown that someone can make an innocent mistake and wind up shot to death.

Two weeks ago, a man shot a young woman after she and a group of friends accidentally pulled into the wrong driveway in Upstate New York. A few days earlier, a man had fatally shot a 16-year-old boy for ringing his doorbell in Missouri. And two Texas cheerleaders were shot for getting into the wrong car on a dark night.

As seniors at Livingston High School being their annual game of "Assassin" — in which they pursue each other around town with water guns — the police sent a message this week telling residents to understand it's a game and not to react badly.

They also said, "We DO NOT condone this game. Our officers have been on high alert responding on many calls of possible car thieves with some even entering houses. The last thing we want is a kid to be mistaken for a criminal." (READ MORE: Thieves Take Car Keys From Home, Then Steal Car)

Message From Police

On Monday the police posted on social media:

Good evening residents. We have been made aware that the high school seniors will be starting their annual game of assassin tomorrow. We post this to make residents aware that you may see kids ducking and hiding carrying high powered water guns around town and in your neighborhoods during the day and night.

We want to be clear that we DO NOT condone this game. Our officers have been on high alert responding on many calls of possible car thieves with some even entering houses. The last thing we want is a kid to be mistaken for a criminal.

To the students, we ask if you decide to play please, please use common sense. Do not dress in all dark clothing and hide around houses or cars. Consider playing during daylight hours only. Also please drive safely.

'Never A Game'

But residents responded by saying maybe it's time to put the game to rest.

"Lived in town for 40 years and this was NEVER a game they played," wrote a woman. "This has to be new. What happened to the old jello/mashed potato wrestling? Better than playing with guns, even if they are toys. And how do you know that some sick and confused kid wouldn't have a REAL weapon????"

Another responded: "Or someone could think one of these kids are breaking into their house and shoot them. Bad idea all around."

The popularity of "Assassin," also known as "The Assassination Game" or "Killer," rose in the early 1980s. Kids sometimes used a rolled-up sock or paint gun to "assassinate" the others in school halls or on a college campus, in the days before the rise of school shootings.

Two movies at the time, Gotcha and TAG: The Assassination Game, reflected the pastime's popularity.