High school student in critical condition after controversial 'senior assassin' game
A North Texas teenager is in critical condition after falling off a vehicle he reportedly hopped onto while playing a controversial water gun game often played by high school seniors.
Isaac Leal, 17, jumped onto the back of a Jeep that began to pull out of a driveway in Arlington on April 20 and later hit the ground, suffering a severe head injury, according to local stations KXAS and KTVT.
Raquel Vazquez, the boy's mother, told KXAS she believes Leal fell off after the vehicle hit a bump on the road. She said a young girl driving the Jeep reached high speeds for around five minutes before eventually hitting a dip, the outlet reported.
The incident happened while playing prank game known as "senior assassin," commonly played by soon-to-be high school graduates. Participants spray each other with water guns, paintball or airsoft guns until there is a winner who has not been soaked.
"Everybody that's playing has to download that app," Isaac Leal's father, Jose Leal, told KTVT. "So, that way, they can tell you what location each person is at."
Parents seek criminal investigation in son's injury
Leal, a baseball star at South Grand Prairie High School, is on life support after suffering the head injury weeks ahead of his high school graduation, KTVT reported.
Both Jose Leal and Vazquez are urging authorities to conduct a criminal investigation into the incident. Jose Leal told KTVT the driver made six turns over five minutes, adding, "that's five minutes of him holding on for his life."
"I understand accidents happen, but this was not an accident," Vazquez told the station. "I have not been able to go home because I can't imagine going home without him."
The Arlington Police Department said it is investigating the traffic incident that security cameras partly captured but have not confirmed any foul play, KTVT reported. The department reportedly said in a statement that "Mr. Leal was hanging out the back of the vehicle when the accident occurred."
USA TODAY has reached out to Vazquez, Jose Leal and the Arlington Police Department for comment.
Officials previously warned against 'senior assassin' game
The latest injury comes after police agencies, educators and state officials have warned teens across the U.S. not to play "senior assassin," "water wars," "senior splashin" or other similar games. Officials have also warned that their toy guns could be mistaken for a real weapon.
Police in Sylvania, Ohio warned in April that students had made their toy guns more realistic and that the department received several calls of concern.
"These scenarios present clear risks of tragic outcomes, including the possibility of officers or armed citizens mistaking students for actual threats," the department wrote on April 18.
In 2024, a Florida high school principal sent a video to parents warning them of the trend's dangers, asserting that any student participating in it on school grounds would face suspension, reported Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Police in several Chicago suburbs sent out alerts about the trend last year, WMAQ-TV reported, saying that there have been "concerning incidents," including kids wearing ski masks and carrying fake weapons that look real.
Contributing: Emilee Coblentz
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