Nassau's top cop Patrick Ryder urges caution after 'Senior Assassin' water-gun game results in 911 calls

A new TikTok trend has landed on Long Island. But police are warning it’s a dangerous game.

High school students at area schools are playing a loosely organized game called "Senior Assassin,” which is essentially a game of tag using water guns, all while someone records the event on a smartphone to post on TikTok.

But the problem is, these water guns are being mistaken for real firearms.

Nassau police have responded to three separate reports indicating someone with a gun or a potential active shooter at area high schools in recent weeks. In all three incidents, it was students playing the game, including Monday at Plainedge High School, which resulted in a massive police response after they received a 911 call mistaking the water guns for real firearms, police said. No injuries have been reported.

"These kids today, the water guns that they carry, look like real guns,” said Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. "And unfortunately, they’re doing it mostly at or around schools.”

Ryder said a custodian at Plainedge saw two students with guns and reported it immediately, prompting a 911 call at 8:15 a.m. to police. The school was placed in lockout mode, meaning no one could leave or enter.

When police arrived, they quickly determined it was not an active shooter, but Ryder said the phenomenon is causing panic at schools and among parents.

Ryder said the school will determine if possible disciplinary sanctions are warranted.

"We’re getting calls, we’re pulling cops out of service,” Ryder said. "We’re obviously moving very quickly to get to these locations. We’re setting up like it’s an active shooter. Schools are going to lockout mode. It’s causing a lot of panic in the communities.”

In a statement, Plainedge Public Schools Interim Superintendent Carol F. Muscarella said the district does not comment on specific students or potential actions.

"As communicated to the Plainedge High School families, this situation stemmed from the “Senior Assassin” game." the statement said. "Students were previously informed by the High School Administration that this activity is strictly prohibited on or near school property due to the potential for serious misinterpretation and unintended consequences."

The Nassau police department couldn’t immediately provide details about the two other incidents. The Suffolk Police Department didn’t immediately provide details when asked Wednesday if school districts in Suffolk had responded to reports that ended up being students playing the game.

Last Nov. 20, Southampton Town police responded to a report of a teenager carrying a "long gun” at 7:20 a.m., resulting in the lockdown of Hampton Bays High School, according to a statement released then by Southampton Det. Sgt. Gina Laferrera.

"The gun was determined to be a toy gun and the subject was involved in the non-school sanctioned game of 'Senior Assassin,' ” Laferrera said in a statement. "The premise of the game is that the student is assigned a "target" — another student — and use the water guns to eliminate their friends from the game which results in a single winner.”

Southampton Town Police school resource officers held an assembly at the school "to address the potential dangers associated with this game and the possibility of a toy gun being mistaken for a real gun,” Laferrera said.

Ryder said Nassau police monitor social media to be aware of these types of incidents and potential threats and sent an intelligence bulletin to local schools so they would be aware of the game.

While many water or toy guns can be bright colors, that alone doesn’t indicate to law enforcement that they’re not real firearms. Ryder said in recent years gang members have begun painting their guns colors like pink in an attempt for them to appear to be toys.

Ryder said in addition to pulling police resources away from real emergencies, reports of someone armed near a school could result in someone getting hurt.

"Let’s say a bunch of kids don’t know the game,” Ryder said. "And now they’re trampling each other.”