Police: Teen playing game with toy gun mistaken for burglar

Pleasanton law enforcement and school officials are urging parents to talk to their children about the “Assassin” game after two teenagers playing the game were recently mistaken for burglars.

The incident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday in the 6900 block of Via Quito, where a resident called 9-1-1 to report a male with what she described as an orange tool trying to open up a neighbor’s garage and side gate, according to Pleasanton Police Department School Resource Officer Marty Billdt.

“(The neighbor) said it looked like a tool to enter a house and it wasn’t a weapon, but she was not sure,” Billdt said.

The neighbor also observed a BMW driving slowly around the neighborhood.

The resident then told the emergency dispatcher that the male outside her neighbor’s house had just been hiding behind a trash can but was no longer visible. She believed he had gone behind the gate and into the backyard, Billdt said.

“Now it sounds like we have a residential burglary in progress,” he said.

Pleasanton police sent multiple officers to the neighborhood to set up a perimeter and search for suspects. As they reached the area, the neighbor on the 9-1-1 call reported the male on foot was now walking on the sidewalk with the tool-like object, looking around.

As he was walking, the BMW that had been driving around the neighborhood stopped to pick him up, according to Billdt.

Officers recognized the BMW from the neighbor’s description in the 9-1-1 call and ordered the teen driver out at gunpoint before his companion got in the car, Billdt said.

The two boys, both Pleasanton high school seniors, were handcuffed and detained on the sidewalk.

“Officers found out they were playing this game, and they were trying to ambush one of their ‘targets,'” Billdt said. “The ‘orange tool’ was a Nerf gun with foam darts.”

In the game, which officials say is being played by Foothill and Amador Valley High students, teams of seniors are assigned “targets” whom they have to “assassinate” using toy Nerf type guns that fire foam darts.

Each participant pays an entry fee and after several rounds of play over months, the last person standing is declared the winner and gets a pot of cash, according to Pleasanton Sgt. Julie Fragomeli. There are additional rules governing the type of weapon used, times and locations where participants can be “assassinated,” and other facets of the game.

The teens in this case were playing as participants characteristically do by driving and lurking around to sneak up on someone behavior that got them mistaken for residential burglars.

The boys were ultimately released after officers corroborated their story and confirmed no crime had occurred. Billdt said the police department notified the boys’ parents and would take no further action.

But the incident raised concerns among school staff and police.

“Participants do not think about how their behavior is being viewed or interpreted by community members who see people with potentially dangerous weapons, often chasing others on foot or in vehicles, and surprising their ‘targets’ in stores or at their homes,” Fragomeli said.

“Unfortunately, our students are engaging in behavior that has possible dire consequences,” she added. “Thus far we have been fortunate to have avoided a serious injury or situation, but there is significant concern that day is coming.”

She added that such false alarm calls also take significant time and resources of emergency personnel, and that students will face disciplinary action if they are found to be playing the game on campus.

“The Pleasanton Police Department and the Pleasanton Unified School District urge students to consider the potential ramifications of their behavior and to avoid playing this game,” Fragomeli said. “To the parents of participants and high school aged children: please have a serious and candid conversation with your children about the very real dangers of this behavior.”