Gun complaint at Strathmore High School turned out to be a water pistol in grad prank

Calgary Herald

23-05-2025

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A student at Strathmore High School landed in some hot water Friday after their senior prank resulted in a visit from RCMP officers.
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A press release from the Strathmore RCMP detachment confirmed officers responded to a complaint of a suspect with a firearm at Strathmore High School. Based on the information provided, RCMP said they advised the school and other buildings in the area to initiate lockdown procedures.
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However, RCMP said the investigation revealed there was never a threat to anyone, as the suspect was in fact carrying a water pistol, as part of a high-school game that has been spreading across the country.
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The 'Senior Assassin' game, which sees high-schoolers seek each other out with water guns, has prompted warnings from police forces in other Canadian cities, including a PSA from the Calgary Police Service earlier this month.
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'Although an innocent game, RCMP is reminding those partaking, please be mindful that someone witnessing this or driving by could perceive a water gun to be a real firearm,' Strathmore RCMP said in its release, adding the student was taken into custody 'without incident.'
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Cpl. Gina Slaney, a media relations officer for Alberta RCMP, said the game itself is harmless, but can have serious repercussions, as evidenced by the incident in Strathmore.
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'Somebody driving by and seeing someone in the parking lot of a business with what is a water gun but potentially look like a real gun, that can cause issues,' she said. 'That's what happened today – somebody saw what they thought was a real firearm on school property, called into the RCMP and we of course have a very serious response to a call like that.'
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The London Police Service in Ontario issued a news release in April encouraging parents to speak to their kids about the potential risks and consequences of having an imitation firearm in their possession.
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'Some of the toy guns we have located on the youth playing the game have been very realistic and resembled real firearms,' said Insp. Pete Testa, with the London Police Service. 'Our officers respond to firearm-related calls that involve the use of both real and imitation firearms, as such they treat every call as though the gun is real.