Adrian Williams knew something was wrong when the police vehicles pulled up near his parked car outside a Planet Fitness in northwest Indiana.
Officers shouted “hands up” and pointed guns at him, a “nerve-wracking” experience, the 18-year-old Portage High School senior said. He managed to get out of his car and kneel down with his hands in the air, his mind racing.
As police surrounded him, blue and red lights flashing, Williams could come up with only one possible reason for an arrest. So, even before the handcuffs went on, he started screaming, “It’s a water gun!” and “I’m playing ‘Senior Assassin’!”
Up until that April 10 moment, Williams had never been in trouble with the law, he and his mother say. Williams is set to graduate, with plans to attend and play football at St. Xavier University in the fall.
But now, Williams is facing a felony charge after participating in “Senior Assassin,” a popular tag-style game where teens hunt down their opponents with Nerf and water guns. Despite its threatening-sounding name, it’s usually a good-spirited elimination challenge that has become tradition for many high school seniors across the Chicago area and the country.
But suburban police and school officials warn that the rite of passage can be “incredibly dangerous,” especially when it’s played in public. As high school graduation season approaches, police have blasted alerts about the controversial game, which they said has heavily been on their radar in recent years. The game is typically organized on social media or other apps.
“Part of this so-called game is to take the other person by surprise, so to a third-party individual it looks like an ambush,” said West Dundee police Chief Shawn Green. “People have to realize that the normal, natural response … is to assume that it’s some sort of a violent act taking place or about to take place.”
In April alone, Williams is one of more than a dozen teenagers across the country, including in Illinois, who have been detained or arrested while playing a game.
But Williams is likely the only one who now faces a felony. He was charged with felony intimidation and spent three nights at the Porter County Jail.
“In my head, when this is all happening, I’m thinking, like, I’m just still a kid,” Williams told the Tribune. “I’m still scared.”
Meanwhile, Portage police say more than a dozen officers responded to the scene that day. They believed it was an active shooter situation, putting officers and the community at risk.
What is ‘Senior Assassin’?
It’s difficult to pinpoint the origins of ‘Senior Assassin’ t it is usually organized by graduating seniors in high school and is played off school grounds. The basic premise is roughly the same: Students are randomly assigned other participants as a target to “kill” by hitting them with a Nerf gun or squirt gun, or marking them with a marker. The game continues for several weeks until only one person is left.
As the game gained popularity in Chicago, some parents and school administrators worried that it might appear insensitive to victims of school shootings and discouraged students from participating. But police feared more dangerous repercussions.
Michael Hutensky, Northfield’s police chief, said the toy guns are often modeled after real firearms and at a quick glance are “very realistic.” He worries of tragic consequences if a bystander doesn’t recognize that the gun is a toy.
“If a homeowner sees a kid playing the game carrying what they think is a real firearm, and the homeowner has armed themselves and they decide to take action themselves, it could be very dangerous,” Hutensky said.
A 17-year-old in Northfield wearing full camouflage hid behind a car in front of a former police chief’s home, according to April 2022 Northfield Village Board meeting minutes. The toy gun he carried was painted black over the orange tip to make it look more real. “Chief was grateful the subject did not point the gun at the officers and complimented officers for responding fast (and) not using excessive force,” per the minutes.
Hutensky said officers responded in this case as though it were an armed person in the street. While they quickly determined the gun wasn’t real, it’s still “scary” for officers and bystanders.
More recently, in northwest Indiana, an 18-year-old Chesterton High School student fell from a moving vehicle on April 15 while playing the game, prompting an organizer to stop the competition.
On April 7, in far northwest suburban West Dundee, police responded to a local elementary school after several residents called 911 about someone in all-black clothing approaching a vehicle in the after-school pickup line carrying what turned out to be a toy gun. The school then initiated lockdown protocols.
It was later discovered that the 18-year-old male high school student was playing “Senior Assassin.” He now faces a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.
Green, the West Dundee police chief, said the teen carried a toy gun that was a whitish color with blue components, which helped officers recognize that it was part of the game. The person the teen was “targeting” also told officers about the game. However, Green said, it’s not always easy to tell when a gun is real or not.
“These things are designed to look like real weapons,” he said. “People have to realize that real rifles can be painted blue and white. They’re not always black. … When the police show up, you can’t just assume that we’re going to know it’s a toy gun.”
When it comes to the game, Green said he doesn’t want to become the “no fun police.” He remembers playing cops and robbers when he was kid. But 2026 is a very different time compared with 1986, he said.
“As much as the old-school side of me would love to say, ‘Come on, it’s just harmless fun,’ you just can’t do that anymore,” Green said. “It just creates too much panic.”
Two years ago, in Gurnee, a group of high school students playing “Senior Assassin” entered a restaurant while wearing ski masks and carrying water guns that the police department said resembled firearms. The students targeted other students eating at the restaurant.
An adult in the restaurant, who was a concealed carry holder, “mistook the situation for a genuine threat, and the situation could have escalated quickly,” police said at the time.
Gurnee police said this year in a social media post that “one bad decision can turn into something serious really fast.” They recommended that parents talk to their kids about how “fast things can go sideways.”
Green compares playing the game in public to pulling a fire alarm, as either situation can draw a large police presence. He both worries about him or his officers mistaking a toy gun for a real one as well as officers putting themselves in danger in other situations because they unnecessarily hesitate.
“We’re not just gonna assume everything is real,” he said. “But at the same time, little things can happen that I think the general public and especially teenagers don’t understand.”
A ‘fun tradition’
For Williams, the ‘Senior Assassin” game has been a “fun tradition” at Portage High School for as long as he can remember. He said he’s long looked forward to playing it with friends.
Students established some rules before the game began, he said. They had to ask permission from their classmates’ parents before going inside their home. They also couldn’t spray their opponents at their jobs or during sports practices, Williams said.
They didn’t specify, however, where they should buy the water guns or their appearance, he said. Williams bought his on the TikTok shop, and chose it because it was advertised as spraying quickly. He said it was grayish in color but that it has orange stickers on the side.
Portage Township Schools said in a statement that they don’t condone the game and that the school’s principal instructed students not to play it on school grounds during the school day.
“When activities involve chasing each other in vehicles, surprise encounters or perceived threats, the potential for harm to our students and the greater community increases significantly,” the statement said.
The first two days of the game were really enjoyable, Williams said. He was hit while walking into his job at Texas Roadhouse, but, because of the rules the students had agreed upon, he wasn’t eliminated.
On April 10, however, things went awry.
Williams had returned home from school early that Friday afternoon because of his class schedule. A friend called him to say that an opponent in the game also left school early and was working out at Planet Fitness.
“And he was like, ‘Yo, this is, like, a perfect opportunity to go get her. I don’t think she knows you left school early,’” he said.
At the gym, Williams said he checked in with employees who told him they’d prefer he not play inside the building, but that he could wait outside. He said he stood near the entrance for around half an hour and eventually went back to his car to charge his phone. That’s when the Portage police showed up.
The department said in a statement that a 911 caller reported Williams armed with a handgun standing outside the business. He was described as “nervous.” The caller also said Williams was “hiding himself” by the front door and was “definitely waiting for someone to come out,” police said.
At least 13 officers responded to what they believed was an “imminent active shooter situation,” which police said put officers and the community at an “unnecessary risk.” There were delayed responses to three other calls for service, police added.
“We understand that this game has been played by high school seniors in our area for a few years and this appears to have become a tradition,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, we have previously had to respond to reports of reckless driving, road rage and carjacking, which were also associated with this game.”
“It is ultimately the duty of the young adults who engage in this game to conduct themselves in a safe, lawful manner that does not cause fear and panic within our community,” the statement added.
Williams said the charge and nights in jail have been a “rough mental challenge.”
Williams’ attorney, Jesse Robert Harper, said he was “somewhat surprised” by the felony charge, but he doesn’t want to discount what the officers believed they were responding to. He hopes he’ll be able to reach some sort of deal with the county’s prosecutor’s office.
“I understand that it’s not a game that we want to encourage … that we want people to take part in because it could lead to a violent outcome,” he said. “But I also don’t want to see the criminal justice system used to, you know, quote teach someone a lesson.”
Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann said he doesn’t comment on pending cases. Williams’ initial hearing is set for Thursday.
Williams’ mom, Tiffany May, said she broke down when she learned her son had been arrested. She also said she doesn’t want to minimize the police response, but that she was “baffled” and “livid” when she found out he was charged with a felony.
“He’s my baby and he’s never been in trouble,” she said. “Just knowing that I’m helpless as a parent and I can’t do nothing to help him — it’s a horrible feeling.”
Both May and Williams said they worry the charge could affect the “bright future” ahead of him. Williams plans to attend and play football at St. Xavier University in the fall.
“If anyone knows me, they knew I wouldn’t hurt nobody,” Williams said.
Schools’ response
At South Elgin High School, school resource officer Patrick Eversole started a campaign on social media with other officers and school administrators to communicate to students and parents the dangers of the game. He said the school told teens if they played on campus they might lose graduation or prom.
Eversole, a former teacher, said he also likes to talk to students one on one. He said he tries to explain that he knows they’re just having fun, but that things could easily go sideways.
Last summer, in a South Elgin parking lot, a player jumped on a moving car and smacked his head on the concrete, he said for example.
“So being a former educator, knowing that brains aren’t fully developed until 25 — the prefrontal cortex decision making — if you have a kid chasing another kid with a water gun and there’s accidental physical contact, they can escalate,” he said.
Other schools have also communicated similar warnings, and stressed that it isn’t a school-sponsored activity.
Candy Reimholz, a spokesperson for Warren Township High School District 121, said the district told parents, staff members and students in an email that the game carries “significant safety risks.” Glenbrook High School District 225 also told parents it could lead to “catastrophic results.”
“Please take a moment and remind your children that bringing real or look-alike weapons to any school, business or other establishment is never a joke,” the District 121 message said.
Meanwhile, LeeAnn Betz, a Naperville Community Unit School District 203 spokesperson, said high school principals reached out to senior families in February to highlight concerns with the game.
“The use of look-alike weapons and erratic driving can lead to dangerous misunderstandings with law enforcement and residents,” Betz said.
Eversole offered one recommendation to parents or students if teens still decide they want to play the game: “I would say go play paintball or laser tag somewhere where it’s in a controlled environment.”
Tribune reporter Kate Armanini contributed.
