Warning for Concealed Carriers- High School Assassin Game is back.

Photo Credit: Glenside Local.com

The “Senior Assassin Game,” or the “Paranoia Game” a long-standing tradition among high school seniors, has popped up again in Illinois this spring and Concealed Carriers should be aware teens “playing” at this assassin game in public and on private property can create potential deadly conflicts. Several Illinois Police agencies have put out warnings about the game this past week.

The game, often played in the springtime, involves students using toy guns like Nerf Guns or water guns to “eliminate” their peers in a tournament-style format. Participants aim to be the last player standing. Players may or may not be limited to hours or locations, and may enter businesses, sneak onto private property, or drive recklessly to catch their targets.

Locally, Glen Ellyn, Northfield and Glencoe police all posted warnings on social media this week about students who play the game. Other warnings have gone out recently from police agencies across the country, so you might encounter it anywhere you travel.

Seniors may see this game as a fun way to celebrate the end of high school, but law enforcement agencies and community members have raised concerns about its safety year after year. Incidents have occurred where the game was mistaken for real criminal activity, leading to not hard to imagine misunderstandings.

In February of 2025 a student was shot in the arm by an off-duty law enforcement agent in Youlee, FL who believed the teen posed a real threat.

The Itasca IL police last year said a rollover crash was caused by two students playing the game.

Probably the most famous Illinois incident, occurred in Gurnee during 2024, when a group of seniors wearing ski masks entered an upscale restaurant in Gurnee while playing. A concealed carry license-holder was in the restaurant at the time and mistook the situation for a genuine threat. Nobody was injured, but police warned the situation could have escalated quickly. It could happen to you.

Trying to reason with teenagers (always a low percentage activity)- some agencies have urged students to avoid playing the game or to follow strict safety guidelines, such as using brightly colored toy guns and refraining from trespassing on private property.

Ski masks? Young adults with guns and ski masks? Sounds like a certain tradition in a large Illinois city by the lake.

I guess this generation never watched the classic assassin game movie “Gotcha” from 1985 to learn the obvious lessons laid out. ie: playing the game leads to paranoia and of course ultimately being chased around by the Russians and East German Stasi in East Berlin and back in LA- even if Anthony Edwards did get the sultry girl spy Linda Fiorentino, it’s just not worth it kids!