A group of Kansas high schoolers’ “senior assassin” prank utilizing gel bead guns burst into turmoil last month when a teenager was shot with a real gun and paralyzed from the waist down, according to a recently filed affidavit.
Deputies from the Sedgwick Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting outside a Goddard Walmart just before 5 p.m. on May 11 and discovered 18-year-old Anakin Zehring with a gunshot wound to his back that had hit his liver, kidney, and spinal cord, paralyzing him, according to police and a GoFundMe page set up by Zehring’s parents.
“On May 11th, our lives were forever changed when my son was involved in the tragic incident at the Goddard Walmart shooting,” his parents said on his GoFundMe page. “He was severely injured, including a bullet wound that perforated his duodenum (upper section of the small intestine) and destroyed his spinal cord, resulting in loss of sensation from the waist down. Despite four operations and intensive medical care, his rehabilitation is only beginning, and we need your aid.
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Zehring was in the vehicle with a 16- and 17-year-old boy who fled the scene after he was hit. Authorities eventually apprehended and questioned the two juvenile witnesses, according to an affidavit.
The three pals had been playing “senior assassin,” a social media game in which high school seniors target others with water cannons and gel-bead weapons. Participants frequently record the “attacks” and share them on social media. The game resulted in two Long Island schools going into lockdown on Monday, according to foxnews.com
In Zehring’s case, he and his companions reportedly used a gel-bead gun to shoot two other juveniles, a 17-year-old female named S.C. and her 17-year-old boyfriend named G.B., outside the Goddard Walmart. Zehring informed authorities that his companion shot the gel blaster, while his friend said Zehring fired at the two youngsters.
The female teenager called her father, Ruben Marcus Contreras, and explained what had transpired.
Contreras then proceeded to Walmart, where he discovered Zehring and his buddies in their Chevrolet Spark, pulled a handgun from his waistband, and reportedly shot into the vehicle, striking the 18-year-old victim, according to the affidavit.
Contreras has now been charged with first-degree attempted murder and freed from Sedgwick County Jail on bond. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
A Walmart employee overheard the youngsters in the Spark yelling, “I’m your senior assassin,” before firing the gel blaster and called his management. S.C. overheard them shouting the same thing.
The three adolescents attempted to enter Walmart immediately after targeting S.C. and G.B., but a manager led them outside, according to the affidavit.
“As G.B. and S.C. walked out of the Walmart, G.B. proceeded to confront the males as they were walking in, and one of the males called him b— and instructed him to meet him out back. “G.B. and S.C. walked over to where they parked, moved their vehicle to the pickup area for online orders, and waited for CONTRERAS to arrive,” the affidavit says.
When Contreras arrived, his daughter and boyfriend pointed out the three teenage “assassins” who were getting into their Chevrolet Spark in the parking lot. A witness informed investigators that Contreras approached them and attempted to open the car’s door handle to prevent them from leaving. The eyewitness “stated he observed the vehicle move forward and then heard pop.”
The identical individual “observed the vehicle pull forward and turn west and take off at high rate of speed and hit metal shipping container.”
The witness approached Contreras and asked what had transpired. According to the affidavit, Contreras allegedly said, “They shot my daughter,” several times.
The witness then approached the victim vehicle and supposedly noticed the driver, later identified as Zehring, suffering from a gunshot wound. Zehring told the witness that he couldn’t feel his legs.