High Schoolers' Gun Battle Lands Them in Deep Trouble With Police, Administration — But There's Just One Tiny Problem

A gun battle between six high school seniors got the attention of police plenty fast.

It all stared when neighbors reported someone pointing a gun at a car one night earlier in the week.

Image source: WAOW-TV

"They did scare a number of people in the area," Capt. Ben Bliven of the Wausau Police Department told WAOW-TV in Wausau, Wisconsin.

There's one tiny wrinkle in this incident, though — the students weren't carrying real guns.

They were Nerf guns — and part of a game trending in popularity called "Nerf Wars."

"Our dispatch said there were three people with firearms,” Bliven told WAOW. "So we had to respond appropriately. We wanted to do everything as safe as possible for us and for the citizens in the area."

Police cited the six seniors for disorderly conduct. In addition, their high school, Wausau West, placed some of them on athletic probation.

As you might guess, the students aren't happy about the outcome.

"I think it was a little overdone with the cops coming and the guns they brought with them," senior Brad Gajewski told WAOW. "It's just kids having fun...not really breaking the law."

Image source: WAOW-TV

The "Nerf Wars" problem isn't new to the school district, which sent a letter to parents about it last week, warning them that any complaints will "be investigated and handled accordingly."

"I just think at that point it got a little out of hand,” one father, Scott Hansen, told WAOW. “Then the issuing of citations was really out of hand."

"It tends to evolve at times, and I think that's what we're dealing with,” Jeff Lindell, the district's director of pupil services, told WAOW. “We definitely had some concerns last year, but I think the game just keeps evolving."

According to the school district, none of the students involved will be suspended.

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