Pleasanton seeking to ban student game that looks like crime

When the Pleasanton Police Department converged all available units toward an armed robbery call last January, the presumed crime was not the heist they were expecting.

The weapons were Nerf guns. The robbers peeking into the windows were teenagers. And the surveillance of the house in question was part of an elaborate game played by high school seniors that police and school officials are hoping to disband this year.

The annual game, known as Assassin, involves seniors from Foothill High School and Amador Valley High School firing foam darts from Nerf guns — often painted to look more like real guns — at a list of targets assigned to each player. Each participant pays an entry fee, and after several rounds spread over months, the last player standing collects the winnings, pooled from the entry fees.

Police and school officials are warning parents and students that playing Assassin could be dangerous, especially when the police and public are unaware it is an organized game. In the past, players have staged Nerf gun drive-bys and simulated hits in convenience stores that could be confused with real crimes, said Sgt. Julie Fragomeli of the Pleasanton Police Department.

School officials said disciplinary action, including suspension, may be taken if students are found playing the game on campus.

The robbery call from last year came when neighbors saw people hiding in bushes with what appeared to be guns and peeking into the windows of a house, Fragomeli said.

Fallacious calls can drain a department’s resources. When the potential crime is something as serious as an active armed robbery, she said, all available units — from detectives working at the station to traffic patrols — will be sent to the scene.

“Had there been a car crash or a heart attack or anything else, those people would have been waiting because of a game,” Fragomeli said.

The use of Nerf guns painted to look more realistic is also a concern. Responding officers rely on information from dispatchers, she said, and fake guns can easily be confused for real ones, creating the perception of a very dangerous situation.

In October, a student at Las Positas College in Livermore caused a campus lockdown when someone mistakenly thought the Nerf gun he was carrying, though not associated with the Assassin game, was a real rifle.

Assassin participants have been known to hide in trash cans, trespass onto private property and even jump out of moving vehicles to target or flee from other players while playing the game.

So far this year, no incidents related to the Assassin game have required police involvement, but Fragomeli said January is usually when the months-long game kicks off.