Man Allegedly Shoots Teen After ‘Senior Assassin’ Prank Involving Daughter

The teen who was shot is now "paying the ultimate price" for playing the game, his father said.

A Kansas teen was left paralyzed from the waist down after a fellow teen’s father shot him amid a game of “senior assassin,” according to law enforcement documents released this week.

Ruben Marcus Contreras, a man in his late 40s, was arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with a May 11 shooting in a Walmart parking lot in the town of Goddard. Sedgwick County deputies said he shot 18-year-old Anakin Zehring after Zehring and his friends had shot at his daughter with a gel blaster, a toy gun that uses water-based beads, according to an affidavit released Wednesday and obtained by HuffPost.

Contreras’ attorney did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. He was released on bond following his arrest.

“Senior assassin” is a game played by high school seniors nationwide, in which students are given a “target” and tasked with eliminating them with a water gun or balloon until there’s only one player left. Many teens consider it a rite of passage, but in recent years, school officials and police have warned against it, fearing players will take things too far; a 16-year-old in Pennsylvania collapsed and died after a chase related to the game last month.

On the night of May 11, Zehring drove his blue Chevrolet Spark to the local Walmart, with two other teen boys riding with him. According to the affidavit, Contreras’ daughter and her boyfriend were walking toward the Walmart as Zehring and his friends drove past them. One of the boys inside Zehring’s car yelled, “I’m your senior assassin,” and shot the gel blaster at her.