At 10:40 a.m. on May 5, SGA President Patrick Lanza announced that the 2023 Senior Assassin game would no longer continue after a “minority of students committed some very serious crimes that were affiliated with the game.”

Due to the severity of this week’s offenses, as relayed by the Westfield Police Department, Lanza shut down  the game due to liability concerns. Rumors have been circulating that on the evening of May 4, a Door-Dash driver was followed and attacked with water guns by a Senior Assassin team. The WPD was called and the victim threatened to sue. As of Hi’s Eye print deadline, no charges have been pressed, but these actions directly broke the Senior Assassin rules. Additional rumors from earlier in the week reported speeding, particularly in residential zones.

Consisting of 83 teams of 4, this year’s game fees of $20 per team were initially divided with half of the raised funds going to the winning team. However, following the game’s cancellation, Lanza said, “I, along with the captains of the teams,  will be donating all of the collected money to Imagine and Agape Community Kitchen.”

With gameplay sacrificed because of the actions of a few of their peers, participants have expressed their disappointment. Senior Joshua Metz said, “I had mixed feelings when the game was canceled. Part of me wanted to keep playing, hoping my team would make it to the next round. However, now I can relax this weekend knowing someone isn’t going to attack me with their water gun.”

In reflection, Lanza stated, “Senior Assassin is a very fun game at heart and I hope that through all five days all participants had fun. The decision to shut down the game came after I was made aware of serious crimes committed by Westfield students off of school grounds. This game became a liability to me and all players as well as put the safety of my fellow classmates at risk. I did not want to see my classmates get hurt or potentially arrested for committing a crime.”