MONTGOMERY: Beware water-soaked ‘assassins’

By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
   MONTGOMERY — It’s springtime, which means the Montgomery High School “Senior Assassins” are out in full force — armed with water guns and ready to squirt, spray and drench their rivals.
   Every spring, participating high school seniors assemble into different teams of “assassins” where competing groups chase and hunt down their opponents and spray them with large water guns — marking the soggy students as officially eliminated from the game.
   Although the Montgomery School District does not condone the game, police Lt. James Curry said the goal is not to end the competition, but to make residents and parents aware the game is being played out within the township.
   With an increased number of kids running around in the evening and lurking in neighborhoods with water guns, police want residents and motorists to use extra caution to prevent accidents.
   Lt. Curry said complaints about the students are not uncommon. Whether it is a kid bolting across a lawn in hot pursuit of his target or a student dangling out of a car window to squirt her assailant, police have to respond to calls to make sure there is no criminal activity.
   However, sometimes there are few scares along the way.
   On May 3, Lt. Curry said there was an incident where students were loitering outside a jewelry store in the Princeton North Shopping Center, waiting to nab their opponent. When officers arrived, they thought the water guns in the students’ jackets were real and ordered them to drop them immediately.
   ”Water guns usually have orange tips, but sometimes we don’t necessarily see that,” explained Lt. Curry. “In this particular case, the kid was pulling the handle out first and that’s all the officer saw.”
   The students’ parents were contacted and no charges were filed.
   While the game itself is legal, Lt. Curry said problems occur when kids use illegal methods to drench other assassins.
   Those who aren’t particularly fans of the assassins will be happy to know the competition usually stops before the end of the school year, when the last standing dry team is named the champions.
   ”In my opinion, there are more destructive things they could be doing,” said Lt. Curry. “What they’re doing isn’t illegal and we’re not going to dictate what they can and can’t do unless they cross legal boundaries.”