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"Senior assassin" game gets another high school student in trouble with police in Massachusetts

By
Mike Toole
Managing Editor, CBS Boston
Mike Toole is the managing editor for CBS Boston. He has worked in the WBZ-TV newsroom for more than 20 years. He previously wrote and produced news and sports at WABC-TV in New York.
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Mike Toole

/ CBS Boston

The controversial "senior assassin" game that's popular with high school seniors is causing problems again, this time in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Lawrence police said three high school students were running as a group on Hampshire Street Thursday afternoon when two of them were hit with "what appeared to be BB-style projectiles." Neither student was seriously hurt.

"During the investigation, officers identified a local high school student as a suspect and recovered an Orbeez/gel projectile device believed to have been used in the incident," police said in a on social media.

They also posted a photo of the weapon.

lawrence-copy.jpg
Police in Lawrence, Massachusetts recovered an Orbeez/gel projectile device after a "senior assassin" incident on April 16, 2026. Lawrence Police

"Investigators determined the incident is linked to a student-organized game referred to as "Senior Assassin" played by graduating seniors throughout the Commonwealth and country, though the victims in this case do not appear to have been participants," police said.

The name of the suspect has not yet been released. The teen was taken into custody and is now charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, police said.

A year ago, police departments in several towns warned high school seniors in Massachusetts about the dangers of the game. It involves students running around outside with water guns, trying to eliminate or "assassinate" others playing the game by squirting water at them. 

WBZ-TV security analyst Ed Davis, a former Boston police commissioner, said these kind of weapons put officers in a difficult position.

"I have investigated cases where people have pulled BB guns or gel guns and been killed by police," Davis said last November. "If there is a gun being pointed at you it doesn't make any difference who is pointing it you're trained to take lethal force in response to that."

"While these activities may seem harmless, they can create dangerous situations and lead to serious legal consequences," Lawrence police said.

Lawrence, Massachusetts is about 30 miles north of Boston.

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