Student shot playing ‘assassins' game when man thinks toy gun is real, Florida cops say

Miami Herald

13-02-2025

A high school game known as 'Senior Assassins' turned all too real when a homeowner assumed the plastic guns wielded by students were real and started shooting, according to investigators in North Florida.
One student was hit, but is expected to recover, the Nassau County Sheriff's Office said in a Feb. 12 news release.
It happened around 6 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, outside a home on Purple Martin Drive in Yulee, about a 25-mile drive north from Jacksonville.
The shooter was 'an off-duty Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Agent' who lives in the neighborhood, officials said.
'The agent encountered what appeared to be three people prowling outside their residence in the dark,' the sheriff's office said.
'Immediately following the shooting, the off-duty agent began to administer first aid while they awaited the arrival of Nassau County Sheriff's Office. The student ... was transported to UF Health with non-life-threatening injuries.'
The student was hit in the arm.
Investigators say the students were participating in senior tradition that 'has drawn serious safety concerns from law enforcement officials.'
'The person shot was a Bishop Kenny (High School) student from Jacksonville participating in 'Senior Assassins,' a game where students 'tag' targets with water guns,' the sheriff's office said.
'In this case their target was a fellow Bishop Kenny student that lives in Nassau County.'
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said the water guns used by students can be easily mistaken for the real thing 'when it's pitch dark.'
'These types of games may seem innocent, but when you have young people sneaking around in the dark carrying objects that could be mistaken for weapons, you're creating a potentially deadly situation,' he said in a video posted on Facebook.
'This incident demonstrates exactly why parents need to take this seriously and speak to their kids about the dangers of these types of games. The next time this happens it could be someone's life.'
The state Department of Law Enforcement and the Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit have joined an investigation into the incident, the sheriff's office said.