17-year-old charged after pointing toy rifle during 'senior assassin'

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Cobb County police officers arrested a 17-year-old Monday evening after a game of "senior assassin" led to a passenger pointing a realistic toy rifle out of a car window.

What we know:

Cobb County police officers were driving near Terrell Mill Road and Powers Ferry Road around 5:46 p.m. Monday when they saw a passenger point what looked like a rifle out of a window. The weapon was aimed directly toward another vehicle on the road.

Officers pulled over the car and detained everyone who was inside. During the investigation, police officers learned that the groups knew each other and were actively playing a game called "senior assassin."

Police officers discovered the weapon was a black orbeez toy rifle equipped with a drum magazine that closely resembled a real firearm. As a result of the response, a 17-year-old was taken into custody and charged with reckless conduct.

What we don't know:

Investigators did not specify how many total people were detained inside the vehicle during the traffic stop. It is also unknown if the occupants of the second vehicle were students or participants in the same game.

What they're saying:

The Cobb County Police Department issued a strong warning to families and teenagers regarding the dangers of using realistic toy firearms in public.

"We understand games like "senior assassin" have become popular, but this serves as an important reminder: pointing realistic-looking weapons at people or from vehicles is not harmless," the Cobb County Police Department said in a statement. "Officers responding to these calls, other drivers, or members of the public have no way of knowing whether what they are seeing is real or fake. A game is not worth someone getting seriously injured or killed."