GIG HARBOR, Wash. — The Gig Harbor Police Department is warning residents of the possible danger surrounding the popular "Nerf War" game played by teenagers.
The Nerf War is a popular tradition in the area where high school students shoot other teammates with foam bullets from Nerf guns in hopes of winning prize money at the end. Participants are considered "off limits" at school, work or inside their homes. However, the rules allow players to stalk each other in neighborhoods or near workplaces.
Gig Harbor Police Department Chief Kelly Busey said what he is concerned about is the safety of the kids in the community.
“They’re going to be engaging in behavior that might look unusual to people that don’t know what’s going on,” Busey said. "It’s not a sanctioned event from the school district so they distance themselves from it as well as us. We would just rather kids find some alternate activities that are maybe in a controlled environment, maybe a little bit safer.”
Police say in the past they received reports of prowlers, reckless driving and car accidents related to the game.
Caleb Stewart, Nerf War Veteran and Gig Harbor Resident said the grand prize when he was a senior was $500.
“Each week you have a set target from a certain team and you gotta chase them, find them, shoot them report it and then you get knocked out,” Stewart explained.
Stewart said he understands why there could be concerns from law enforcement.
"People wait in trash cans they’ll wait outside your door, so there’s been kind of some crazy stories out there,” he said.
“We really want our kids to be safe and we don’t want to take the fun away from our seniors that’s not the goal here,” Gig Harbor Mayor Tracie Markley said.
This statement comes after four young people were shot for making ordinary mistakes in less than a week.
A man shot and wounded two cheerleaders outside a Texas supermarket early Tuesday after one of them said she mistakenly got into his car thinking it was her own.
A group looking for a friend’s house in upstate New York arrived in the wrong driveway only for one of them to be shot to death Saturday night, authorities said.
In Missouri last Thursday, a Kansas City teen was shot twice after going to the wrong home to pick up his younger brothers.
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