Sunday, May 10, 2026
All the Conversations Fit to Start Your Morning

The Desk

MORNINGS IN THE LAB
156 correspondents · 93 cities · 10 shows ·94 stories today
🔴 LIVE Mornings in the Lab — The conversation starts here. WATCH NOW →
Front PageThe Buzz

Your kids are playing 'Senior Assassin' here too. Should you worry?

SHARE

Your kids are playing 'Senior Assassin' here too

Morning from the Hub of the North — here's what matters in Thompson today.

So, there's a game making the rounds in high schools called "Senior Assassin." Sounds innocent enough, right? Kids chase each other with water guns to "assassinate" their targets. But down south, in Ontario, things escalated: police are investigating after an unhoused man was hit with a water gun. Now, I've seen these kids running around near the UCN campus and even down Cree Road. It’s usually harmless fun, but this kind of situation reminds you how quickly a game can turn serious, especially when water guns can be mistaken for real weapons.

### What This Means for Thompson

This isn't just an Ontario problem; it’s a national trend, and our kids are playing it right here in Thompson. The core facts are simple:

* **Misinterpretation Risk:** A water gun in public can easily be mistaken for a real firearm, especially at a distance or in low light.

* **Public Safety:** There's a real danger of panic or even a police response if someone thinks there's a weapon involved.

* **Vulnerable Populations:** Like the incident in Ontario, there's a risk of targeting vulnerable people, whether intentionally or by accident.

We live in a place where people are generally pretty direct and observant. We see what's happening around us. The RCMP here in Thompson already have enough on their plates, and we don't need any unnecessary incidents stemming from a game that's gone too far. It's a good reminder for parents and students in our community, from Juniper to Eastwood, to talk about responsible play and being aware of your surroundings. We need to look out for each other, and that means making sure games don't inadvertently create fear or put anyone at risk.

Marla Spence, MiTL Sports Desk.

You can get more details on this story and others on The Morning Wire — tune in live at mornings.live.

SHARE

More from Marla Spence

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 →