It is 65 miles from North Myrtle Beach, SC, to Wrightsville Beach, NC, and if you are Community School of Davidson (CSD) senior, Cindy Turner, and you are driving fellow senior, Mia Kirsch, on a mission to eliminate her Senior Assassin target, the drive takes less than an hour.
Game on.
Target acquired.
Even far from CSD, no classmate is safe no matter where he or she might be spending the weekend. Mary McMillan, who has been cell phone located sitting on the beach, is about to be eliminated.
Let the drive and assault begin.
“It was a memorable time at the beach for sure, if Mia wins the money I’m expecting a cut,” Cindy Turner said.
Senior Assassin is a recent, school non-affiliated senior tradition, a phenomenon that is both making national headlines and is consuming a substantial amount of high school seniors’ time, energy and dedication.
The game consists of any senior class member (who paid $10) joining the game with the app “Splashin.” Every senior who participates is assigned a target at random. Using a water filled squirt gun, the goal is to eliminate the target as fast as possible within the round’s time constraints (typically 2 – 3 weeks).
Going on the offensive is only part of the game. Defense matters, too. Seniors can wear swim goggles or floaties as protection from their assassins in public.
(Kate Saussele)
However, there are random ‘no protection’ days where goggles or floaties do not protect you from your assassin.
The game continues through multiple rounds and conquests. It is eliminate or be eliminated. The last senior standing at the end of the final round is declared the winner.
There is one big stipulation. Since the game is not affiliated with the school, seniors are not allowed to eliminate their target on school grounds or at work.
Regardless of the rules, some seniors opt for maximum protection at all times just in case. Julia Vecchiarello stays protected by wearing her goggles at all times even in classes.
“I focus on not getting out, and always wearing my goggles,” Julia Vecchiarello (‘25) said.
Innovation and creativity most often lead to elimination. Planning is important.
“I saw that my target was at The Soda Shop in Davidson so I decided to go back to her house and wait for her to get home,” Conner Shelton (‘25) said. “I hid in the woods by her house and when she pulled into the driveway, I opened up her car door and got her with my water gun.”
Sage Moellendick has not been as successful. She has tried to get her target and failed 4 times.
“The first time I showed up to Bailey Park and my target was there trying to get her target. She saw me and I lied and told her I was there for someone else,” Sage Moellendick (‘25) said. “I tried to manipulate her to take her goggles off but she wouldn’t.”
Round 1 of Senior Assassin began on March 17, 2025, and ends on April 6, 2025.
Good luck to those who continue into Round 2.
