A high school student playing the senior assassin game in West Dundee on Tuesday afternoon was charged with disorderly conduct after police received multiple 911 calls about him approaching a car in the after-school pickup line for Dundee Highlands Elementary School with what turned out to be a toy gun, police said.
According to police reports, shortly before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, the West Dundee Police Department received several 911 calls reporting someone carrying what appeared to be a rifle and wearing all-black clothing who had approached a vehicle in the after-school pickup line at the school.
Callers told police that after a brief and seemingly hostile interaction with the occupants of the vehicle, the individual left school property and was last seen walking onto Ryan Lane from Edwards Avenue. The school’s address is 407 S. 5th Street, and its south lot is near the intersection of Ryan and Edwards.
Police immediately went to the area, and the school initiated lockdown protocols, the report said. Officers determined there was no threat to the school or public safety, and the lockdown was lifted.
A police investigation quickly revealed the incident was related to the senior assassin game, the report said. In the game, players target another player and try to eliminate that target using water guns, airsoft guns or similar non-lethal devices.
Police uncovered that the 18-year-old male student, who lives in Algonquin and who attends Jacobs High School in Algonquin, had brought a water gun designed to resemble an M4-style semi-automatic rifle to near the elementary school to confront a fellow teenager as part of the game.
Given the significant breach of the peace caused by the incident, the individual was charged with disorderly conduct, the report stated.
Police did not release the young man’s name. West Dundee Police Chief Shawn Green said the man has a court appearance set for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, in Elgin.
The West Dundee Police Department strongly discourages participation in the game in any public space, the report said.
“Using realistic-looking toy guns and/or staging ambush-style encounters in public can alarm innocent bystanders and prompt a significant emergency response,” Green said. “This type of activity creates a very real risk of being mistaken for an armed threat, placing participants, bystanders and responding officers in danger. It is particularly unacceptable to engage in this type of activity on or near school property.”
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
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