As the first signs of spring emerge, Greater Latrobe High School students prepare for a tradition that has become a rite of passage: Squirt Gun Assassination. This annual game, played outside of school hours, transforms classmates into stealthy competitors armed with water guns, strategic alliances, and a determination to outlast their opponents.
The Game
Each year, the rules of the game are updated, adding new challenges and strategies for participants. While the competition has the potential to continue until May, its actual duration depends on how quickly teams accomplish their objectives. Students organize themselves into teams of four, selecting creative team names to represent their group. Each player is assigned a specific “target” and must eliminate that individual before the final deadline. However, simply claiming an elimination isn’t enough—the “hunter” must provide clear proof that they successfully took out their target. Without proper evidence, the elimination will be dismissed, ensuring fairness and accountability throughout the game.. strategy, secrecy, and timing become critical as players balance trust within their team and the ever-present risk of betrayal or surprise eliminations. Alliances may form, but in the end, only one team—or even a single individual—can claim ultimate victory. The game thrives on creativity, suspense, and the thrill of the hunt, making each year more unpredictable than the last.
How it Came About
Chiara Mongelluzzo and Jack Stein, both Seniors at Greater Latrobe High School, are the people who are running the Squirt Gun Assassin game this year. Chiara and Jack became Chiara and Jack did not expect to become the leaders of the game this year, but Chiara said, “The den leaders wanted to play, so they asked Jack and me if we’d run it, and we said yes, so we started a new account.” Once they knew they were going to be the leaders of SGA this year, they made a new Instagram account and started to post about when the game would start and all the new rules and guidelines. A lot of the rules/guidelines were changed from last year to this year’s game. For example, last year, the teams were teams of two; now, they are four. Chiara said, “It used to always be teams of four in the past years of SGA when my siblings played, and it seemed so much more fun that way, so we wanted to make it as fun as possible again.” Each year, the rules have changed little by little. However, this year, the game has changed back to the older ways. Another aspect of the games is who your target is. This year, the way to pick who you target is to “Chat GPT to randomly assign teams to others so we don’t have any bias or have to deal with the struggle of picking teams ourselves,” Chiara said. Picking the teams with Chat GPT made that factor of the game easier to work out, although Chiara said, “The hardest part so far was definitely collecting everyone’s money.” Although every part of being one of the leaders for this game is hard, many factors happen behind the scenes that the players would not necessarily think about.
The Controversy
While it all may seem like fun and games at first, some teams play dirty. Rumors arise about the unfairness of immunity or fake eliminations. Junior, Gabby Cunningham, was the very first target eliminated. Cunningham was outed by one of her friends: “One of my friends had me, so they spotted my car down the alley.” While SGA has been around since the 1980s, the game has been tweaked over the years. The original game was reserved for seniors only, but now it includes both juniors and seniors. Does this cause controversy? Possibly. The inclusion of juniors might contribute to the tension, as seniors may feel that their long-standing tradition is being diluted. Over the years, disagreements have escalated, with both seniors and juniors getting into heated arguments or even being confronted by school authorities.
Outside of Latrobe, SGA has raised concerns on a larger scale. In New Jersey, for example, students have been caught using squirt guns that resemble real firearms. Despite rules strictly prohibiting the use of realistic-looking weapons, students continue to purchase and use them. This has raised serious safety concerns. Adults have been vocal in their opinions, but the community remains divided. Some say it’s just kids being kids and blowing off steam in a playful way. Others argue that the game poses a real danger, not only to the players but to innocent bystanders. Parents and law enforcement worry that students could be mistaken for criminals, leading to potentially life-threatening consequences.
This isn’t the first time Latrobe has faced problems with the game. Back in 2017, SGA was forced to end early due to issues that spiraled out of control, with the remaining teams having to split the prize money. More recently, last year’s student organizers found themselves overwhelmed, receiving a flood of angry texts and messages from frustrated participants and spectators. As the game continues to evolve, so does the controversy surrounding it. The question remains: is it a harmless tradition or a game gone too far? This year has been no different. With social media more involved than ever, players are being tracked through Snapchat stories, Instagram posts, and even shared locations. Screenshots of group chats have surfaced, exposing secret alliances and betrayals. What was once a fun end-of-year activity has, in some ways, become a full-blown operation—complete with spies, fake identities, and questionable tactics.
Since the game is still in progress, no team has emerged as the winner. While the outcome is still unknown, one thing is certain—every team is eager to claim victory. The anticipation is high, and the competition is fierce, with each team bringing their best in hopes of rising above the rest. Uncertainty hangs in the air, but it only fuels the determination and drive of the players, who are all focused on one goal: winning.
