What is LAHS Senior Assassin?

The well-beloved tradition of an LAHS senior-only parody of the popular game “Assassin” thas been around for years. The purpose? For seniors to have their fun before they graduate.

“It’s kind of like a send-off,” senior Keyon Raissinia said.

Every senior participating was assigned a random student as their target to “assassinate.” Students must shoot their designated target with a water gun, oftentimes with the help of friends. The original targets of the eliminated senior are notified that they’re safe until the next round begins.

Rounds happen over the course of a week. Every Friday, another round begins and students are assigned someone new to eliminate by 9 p.m. on the following Thursday. If a senior successfully eliminates their target, they’re able to go onto the next round — that is, if they’re able to avoid getting eliminated themselves. If someone is assassinated or unable to assassinate their target by the Thursday deadline, then they’re out.

“Watching your back 24-by-7 and making sure you’re wearing a floatie does take a bit of effort and time,” senior Jordan Rahmfeld said. “But it’s really, really fun, and it’s kind of funny, watching my friends [assassinate] people and get [assassinated]. I think it’s a lovely tradition.”

Where and when can you assassinate someone?

Wearing floaties or goggles on the neck or above grants seniors immunity. However, floaties don’t count on “Purge Day” (Thursday). There is a 10-minute “grace period” before and after school on Thursdays that allows people to get to and from school without being eliminated.

To participate, seniors must download location-sharing app Life360 onto their phones and have their location available at all times. Assassinations are banned during school hours or at school-related events, including concerts, sports games or club events. Students are only allowed to assassinate their target in their home if they are invited in.

Instagram Stardom 

In order for “kills” to count, students must capture their assassination on film. These videos are posted to the Senior Assassin Instagram account, @la_assassin_24. Despite the already-established tradition of using Instagram to publicize and announce updates, the game has reached new levels of internet fame this year.

Videos of every assassination, which are posted as reels on the account, average viewership in the tens of thousands. The most viral video, featuring senior Manu Shankar eliminating senior Sofia Stepanov, has reached 2.2 million views as of Tuesday, April 2.

“I remember seeing that it got around the same number of views as the rest of the other videos when it was first posted, but then after a few days, it really blew up,” Manu said. “It’s just been a mini moment of Internet fame I guess!”

Best Snipes

Toughest Targets

Cornered