Texas high school senior critically injured while playing 'Senior Assassin' game, mother says

NBC News

08-05-2025

A 17-year-old Texas high school senior is hospitalized with critical injuries after he fell from the back of a Jeep while playing the game 'Senior Assassin,' his mother said.
Raquel Vazquez told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth that her son, Isaac Leal, fell from the vehicle after she believes it hit a bump in the road.
'They were playing 'Senior Assassin.' He jumped on a young girl's Jeep as it was parked,' she said.
Vazquez claimed the girl reversed and then 'drove for five minutes at a high speed to where he could not jump off.' The vehicle hit a dip, causing Leal to fall and hit his head, his mother told the news station.
The incident, which happened on April 20 in Arlington, was partly caught on cell phone and security video, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported.
Police across the country have warned about the dangers of the game, where players try to 'assassinate' their target, another student, by squirting them with a water gun.
Last month, the Claremore Police Department in Oklahoma warned that water guns can be mistaken for real weapons and hiding from your 'assassin' could 'lead to dangerous misunderstandings' with police and residents. The department also said that 'trespassing and unsafe driving' have been reported as part of the game.
'While it may appear harmless on the surface, this game poses very real dangers to both students and the public,' the department said in a Facebook post.
The Sylvania Police Department in Ohio said in an April 18 Facebook post that it had received multiple calls from concerned citizens who mistook the game for a real threat. The department said students who play the game have disguised the toy guys 'to appear more realistic' and have taken them onto private property and public roadways.
'Officers are dispatched to these incidents as 'weapons calls' and respond accordingly,' the department said.
It called for an 'immediate cessation of these games in public areas' and said that officers had been instructed to criminally charge anyone who engages in dangerous behavior or whose actions prompt a law enforcement call.
Arlington police said they were made aware of Leal's accident over the weekend and are investigating the incident 'to determine whether a criminal offense occurred.'
'In reviewing calls for service from the date the incident occurred, April 20, we learned that EMS responded to the accident site for what was described as an unconscious person,' the department said in a statement. 'PD, however, was never dispatched, and we were not notified that Mr. Leal's injuries stemmed from a traffic incident until we spoke with his family this past weekend. The APD Traffic Division is leading the investigation. Based on the evidence we have reviewed, it appears Mr. Leal was hanging out the back of the vehicle when the accident occurred.'
Leal, a baseball player at the high school, remains hospitalized.
'I have not been able to go home because I can't imagine going home without him,' his mother said.