Twice in the past week, members of the Collingwood and Blue Mountains Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have responded to reports of young people in vehicles observed with firearms. Police have determined that both incidents were the result of youths and young adults playing a game called “Senior Assassin” with water guns.
Senior Assassin has grown in popularity across Canada and the United States. Although it’s getting young people to take time away from their devices and online gaming, the Collingwood and Blue Mountains Detachment would like to raise awareness for players and the public to limit confusion between the game and a real scenario.
On April 24, 2024, Collingwood and Blue Mountains OPP received a complaint that several teens in a white vehicle had attended an address on Kirby Ave in Collingwood and were trying to get to another teen, who had taken refuge in a residence. Police were advised that one of the individuals was carrying a handgun. Multiple police units converged on the area and located the vehicle and suspects, taking them into custody before determining that the firearm was actually a water-gun and the teens were playing Senior Assassin.
On April 28, 2024, Collingwood and Blue Mountains OPP responded to a complaint that several teens were parked in a vehicle on Bush Street in Collingwood and acting suspiciously in front of a residence. It was believed that they had firearms with them in the vehicle. Multiple officers arrived and the teens were detained while the officers conducted their investigation. It was determined that the teens were using water-guns and playing the Senior Assassin game.
The Collingwood and Blue Mountains OPP warns the young people who are playing this game to ensure that they are not using water-guns that can easily be confused with a “real” firearm, stick to the brightly coloured plastic type; don’t linger around other people’s homes or trespass on their property; and don’t wear face masks that cover the face. It is important for young people to understand how their actions could look/be interpreted by a member of the public, who is unfamiliar with the game that they are playing.