A mother of a high school senior in Mount Vernon addressed Knox County Commissioners Barry Lester and Drenda Keesee on April 14 to raise concerns about the student‑run game known as senior tag, or “Assassin.”
The issue was raised due to concerns that the activities associated with the game could be mistaken for suspicious or dangerous behavior.
The parent, Andrea White, said during the meeting that students are moving across neighborhoods and into areas where they may not be known, which can lead residents to misinterpret their actions.
"Students are moving across neighborhoods, moving across the county, into areas where they may not be known, and into spaces where residents are not expecting this kind of activity. In practice, that means that students are staking out neighborhoods, waiting outside homes, following one another in cars, and approaching each other unexpectedly in public spaces. They're stakeouts, all carrying objects that to them are clearly water guns. But to others, this may not be obvious at all. Your department responds to calls every day about suspicious people, let alone suspicious people who appear to be carrying a weapon," White said.
White said without prior knowledge real consequences could occur if a law enforcement official mistakes a water gun for a real weapon. It also creates the potential for homeowners to react and escalate the situation following Ohio's castle doctrine, which White said strikes fear in her. The mother of a high school senior participating in senior tag, also called 'Assassin' by the students, said she was speaking at the city and county meetings to give officers one more tool before answering a call, awareness. She said giving dispatchers and deputies even a small amount of prior context can help moderate their response and enable them to make a more measured assessment of the situation.
White explained that while senior tag used to last only one day or one week in previous years, it now extends over three weeks with head-to-head games between teams. She noted police officers often receive an email alert about this event but had not yet received one this year since it is not sanctioned by the school district.
She further pointed out safety risks related to toy weapons resembling real firearms. White said the students get to collect video game fantasies in their head in what they see as a safe way to do it with water guns that are clearly marked as water guns. However, she said it's easy to take off the orange tip identifying it as a toy. And manufacturers are making water guns to look like actual weapons.
White encouraged the county to issue a public reminder for residents to verify the situation before reacting with their weapons. She suggested that they continue practicing safe responsible firearm storage with ammunition and weapons locked and stored separately. She added: "This is about reducing the risk of a preventable tragedy because once a call is made and deputies are dispatched, the context is very limited. At that point everyone is reacting to what they believe they are seeing. And a small step making sure that right people have right information at right time can make all difference."
