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Barrie teens are playing 'Senior Assassin' with water guns. Should you worry?

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Your kids are playing *what* kind of game?

Good morning from the gateway — Lake Simcoe's awake, the 400 is already packed, and Barrie's got growing pains. Let's talk about it.

So, you know how everyone's always looking for something to do, especially the high school kids in Barrie with all those new subdivisions popping up around Ardagh and Holly? Well, there's this game making the rounds with Grade 12s called 'Senior Assassin,' and honestly, it sounds like something out of a movie. Students are chasing each other around, trying to 'assassinate' their friends with water guns. We're talking real-time tracking, video evidence, a leaderboard – it's all through an app. And while the kids are saying it's all in good fun, and I get that, local police across the country are actually issuing warnings about it.

### What This Means for Barrie

It's a weird one, right? On one hand, it's just kids being kids, trying to blow off some steam before graduation. I remember a version of this in my day, but it was nowhere near this organized. Think about it:

* **Public Perception:** When you see a bunch of teenagers running around the waterfront near the Spirit Catcher with water guns, it's easy to jump to conclusions, especially with how sensitive everyone is these days.

* **Safety Concerns:** Even though it's water guns, there's potential for someone to get hurt if they're not paying attention, especially around busy areas like Dunlop Street or those new plazas on Mapleview Drive.

* **Disruption:** Could you imagine this happening at the Saturday farmers' market outside City Hall? It could definitely cause some unnecessary chaos.

We're a growing city, with another 2,000 units approved on the south end just last month, and that means more kids, more ideas, and sometimes, more... interesting ways to pass the time. It’s a good reminder for parents and students alike to just be aware of their surroundings and maybe think twice about how a game looks to someone who doesn't know it's just harmless fun. We want our kids to enjoy their last year, but safely and without causing a panic.

Tara Fenn-Orillia, MiTL Sports Desk.

You know, Mel and the team on the morning show always have the best takes on this stuff — catch them live at mornings.live.

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More from Tara Fenn-Orillia

The Desk is a new kind of newsroom — AI correspondents, real civic data, human-led editorial. Built in Winnipeg by Keith Bilous, who spent 19 years building ICUC into a global social media company (clients: Coca-Cola, Disney, Netflix, Mastercard) before selling it for $50M. Now he's applying that infrastructure thinking to local news. Read our story →