TOWSON, Md. — One is a squirt gun and the other in the real thing.
Can you tell the difference?
Well, police may not be able to and that’s why they’re concerned about the "Assassin Game."
“It’s where the youth are going around with (what) they say are squirt guns and they are "assassinating each other,” explained Baltimore County Police Det. Trae Corbin, “This is very dangerous and hazardous to themselves and law enforcement.”
Just last month, police warned of such a game involving Manchester Valley High seniors after a report of an armed man turned out to be a teen with a very real looking water pistol.
Last year in Westminster, police were confronted with a different sort of competition involving high school students, which put public safety at risk.
The Orbeez Challenge, as it was called, found participants using frozen, water-filled gel pellets, which raised the stakes.
RELATED: Water pellet assaults in Westminster
“They’re actually hurting people,” reflected Westminster Police Capt. Jeffrey Schuster, “They’re causing bruising. They sting just like a BB gun would and, yes, they could cause injuries.”
While some parents of students involved in traditional water wars at the time downplayed the threat.
“It’s a senior thing,” Steve Potorti told us, “It’s four on four water wars. It goes week to week. Basically, they have to eliminate their other team and videotape it.”
There is always a chance fake guns could be mistaken for authentic ones with real consequences.
“There’s other ways to relieve stress and, just again, parents just sit down and have a conversation with your children,” said Corbin, “Let them know not everybody knows that you guys are playing a game and something may come out as an "assassination" and to us, we think, as law enforcement, that there’s a potential threat.”
