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A student toting and a long “toy gun” while playing a game called “Senior Assassin” caused quite a stir Thursday morning at Hampton Bays High School, prompting a campus lockdown and a police search, authorities said.
Southampton Town police said a local resident called 911 about 7:20 a.m. after spotting a teen get out of a vehicle in Hampton Bays holding what looked like a long gun. The teen then got back in the car and drove off, triggering a full-on police response given the proximity of the sighting to the high school.
Hampton Bays High School, located at 86 Argonne Road, was immediately placed on lockdown as patrol officers and detectives fanned out across the neighborhood looking for the vehicle and the person described.
Police later located the teen, the car and the gun — which turned out to be a toy water gun used in “Senior Assassin,” an unsanctioned game in which students “eliminate” assigned targets by squirting them, officials said.
Once the situation was contained, school staff and Southampton Town Police school resource officers conducted a school assembly to warn students about the risks of carrying realistic-looking toy guns and the potential consequences when such games spill into the community.
Cops urged parents and guardians to speak with their children about the dangers of the game and the possibility of toy weapons being mistaken for real ones.
Top: The front of Hampton Bays High School (© Google Maps / Street View)
