05/06/2025
Dear Parents,
I wanted to take a moment to inform you about a current Tik Tok challenge that is affecting senior high students. The challenge, known as "senior assassin," encourages teens to select certain senior students as targets. In some cases, students have brought toy weapons, such as water guns, throughout the Town of Stoneham.
This is a serious public safety concern for Stoneham as well as for many other cities and towns across the nation. In fact, there have been multiple reports in recent days of this "game" leading to tragedies. Just this past weekend (Sunday, May 4th), the Stoneham Police Department responded to a police call that could have turned into a local tragedy. I am including the post shared on the SPD social media channel below.
I want to make it crystal clear that the Stoneham Public Schools, the Stoneham School Committee, and the Stoneham Police Department do not condone this activity. I also want to make it crystal clear that any students found playing this game on any school property in Stoneham will be held accountable. This is a serious threat to the public safety of our students, our families, and our public safety officers. Bottom line: Do not allow your children to play this "game."
We kindly ask that you monitor your child’s social media and discuss the dangers associated with such activities. This behavior can create unsafe situations and disrupt the positive learning environment we strive to maintain. We will be addressing this issue with our students, emphasizing that any violations could lead to serious disciplinary actions as outlined in our Student Code of Conduct.
Thank you for your continued support.
Best regards,
David Ljungberg, Superintendent
Stoneham Public Schools
------------------------------------------------------
SPD Social Media Post (click here for source)
Community Awareness
“On Sunday, May 4, 2025, at approximately 10pm, multiple officers responded to the rear of the Redstone Shopping Center for a report of a man wearing a mask, armed with a gun. Officers arrived on scene and located a male fitting the description, wearing fabric over his face as if attempting to hide his identify. A second adult male was also located with the man wearing the mask. Officers removed a two tone (black slide assembly and white grip) pistol from the adult male wearing the mask. Officers conducting their investigation determined that the pistol was a water gun and that two males are seniors at Stoneham High School participating in “Senior Assassin”.
The water gun was two tone (black and white) with a removable magazine. The slide of the pistol was black and the grip / frame of the pistol was white. This water gun was not equipped with any type of orange safety markings indicating that it is a toy.
We know that the Senior Assassin game has become a tradition in high schools across the country for seniors as they approach graduation. We also know that there can be life shattering consequences for decisions that are made while playing this and other games. We were all lucky on Sunday night that the student complied with officers’ orders and that officers were able to quickly establish that the realistic looking pistol was a toy. This night could have been tragic for a graduating senior with all of life’s wonderful opportunities ahead of him. The officers educated the two students of the dangers of using realistic looking toys, especially in a shopping center late at night.
Parents, PLEASE check your students / child’s toys and make sure any realistic looking toy guns or water guns have markers showing that they are toys.”
