Police Issue Urgent Warning Over Viral TikTok Game After Sydney TAFE Lockdown
Police are issuing a stark warning to parents and teenagers across Australia after a viral TikTok game triggered a major emergency response, plunging a Sydney TAFE campus into lockdown. The incident occurred at Campbelltown TAFE on Tuesday afternoon when a 16-year-old girl was spotted carrying a brightly coloured water pistol, which staff from a distance believed to be a real firearm.
Senior Assassin Game Sparks Campus Chaos
The water pistol was later revealed to be part of a TikTok challenge known as "Senior Assassin," a popular game among high-school students, typically Year 12s, where players "eliminate" each other using water pistols or other toy guns. Security personnel at the campus immediately initiated a lockdown protocol, and police were called to the scene, treating the situation as a genuine threat due to the uncertainty of the weapon's authenticity.
In a TikTok video posted after the incident, NSW Police urged teens to reconsider participating in the trend, emphasizing that officers have no way of distinguishing between fake and real firearms during such reports. "From a distance, these items can look very real," an officer stated. "If someone reports a firearm to police, then we treat it as a genuine threat, and we respond accordingly. In that moment, we don't know it's just a game."
Emergency Response and Aftermath
Emergency services swarmed the Narellan Road campus just before 4:30 pm, with hundreds of students ordered to hide under desks and tables as blinds were pulled down for safety. Police conducted thorough sweeps through classrooms and buildings to ensure everyone was secure. The lockdown was only lifted once the campus was fully cleared, allowing students to be collected by family members later in the evening.
Officers later visited a Campbelltown home around 7 pm to speak with the 16-year-old girl involved and seized the water pistol. This incident serves as a critical reminder that imitation weapons, even when used in social-media games, can inadvertently trigger full-scale emergency responses, putting public safety at risk.
Police stress that what might seem like a bit of fun can quickly escalate into a very serious situation, urging communities to be vigilant and aware of the potential dangers associated with such trends.
