Gig Harbor police discourage teens from participating in Nerf War
After multiple cases of teenagers being shot for common mistakes across the country, police are concerned teenagers could be mistaken for snoopers in the game.
GIG HARBOR, Wash. Gig . Port Police Department is warning residents of the possible danger surrounding the popular “Nerf War” game played by teenagers.
Nerf wars are a popular tradition in the area, where high school students shoot other teammates with foam bullets from Nerf guns in hopes of winning a bounty at the end. Participants were deemed “off-limits” at school, work or in their homes. However, the rules allow players to follow each other in the neighborhood or near work.
Gig Harbor Police Department Superintendent Kelly Busey said his concern is the safety of children in the community.
“They will perform behaviors that seem unusual to people who don’t know what is going on,” Busey said. “It’s not a banned event from the school district so they, like us, stay away from it. We just want the kids to find some possible alternative activities in a controlled, environment-friendly environment.” maybe a little safer.”
Police said they had previously received reports of vagabonds, reckless driving and game-related car accidents.
Caleb Stewart, Nerf War Veteran and Gig Harbor Resident said the grand prize when he was a senior was $500.
“Every week, you have a set target from a certain team and you have to chase them, find them, shoot them and report that and then you get knocked out,” explains Stewart.
Stewart said he understands why there may be concerns from law enforcement.
“People wait in the trash, they’ll wait outside your door, so there’s been some crazy stories going on there,” he said.
“We really want our kids to be safe and we don’t want to take away the joy of the elders, that’s not the goal here,” said Gig Harbor Mayor Tracie Markley.
The statement came after four young men were executed by firing squad for making a trivial mistake in less than a week.
A man shot and injured two cheerleaders outside a Texas supermarket early Tuesday morning after one of them said she got into his car by mistake thinking it was hers. .
Authorities said a group searching for a friend’s home in upstate New York went the wrong way and one of them was shot dead Saturday night.
In Missouri last Thursday, a Kansas City teenager was shot twice after going to the wrong home to pick up his brothers.
Watch playlist of KING 5 top stories:
