A Kansas teenager has been left paralyzed after a controversial senior prank trend went awry. Anakin Zehring, 18, and two other males were in a car in a Walmart parking lot in Goddard when they allegedly shot at a teen girl and her boyfriend with gel blasters.
The alleged shooters were reported to have participated in a controversial trend known as “Senior Assassin,” a game of tag where high school seniors shoot at other seniors with water guns, water balloons, and gel blasters. The attacks are typically filmed and posted on social media.
The game took a fateful turn when one of the alleged teenage targets called her father, Ruben Marcus Contreras, and told him what was happening. Contreras allegedly showed up at the Walmart with a handgun and shot Zehring, the Wichita Eagle reported. The teenager is now paralyzed, and the father has been charged with attempted murder.
The prank victims were reportedly shopping for a graduation party.
Per an affidavit obtained by the Wichita Eagle, the Contreras family was having a graduation party, and the dad had asked his teenage daughter and her boyfriend to go to Walmart for more supplies. While they were walking in the parking lot, Zehring and two other males reportedly approached them in their vehicle.
One of the teens reportedly said, “I’m your senior assassin” and shot them with gel blasters, “a toy gun which fires polymer water beads,” according to the affidavit.
Per the affidavit, the shooters reportedly confronted their targets but wound up inside the store and were asked to leave by a manager a short time later.
Contreras’ daughter called her father to tell him what happened, and the father allegedly made his way to the store with a handgun. When he arrived, the daughter showed her father the teenage suspects, and Contreras approached them.
A tragic shooting occurred.
Video surveillance from the Walmart parking lot reportedly captured the interaction between the father and the senior assassins.
“The Spark continues southbound through the parking lot a short distance where the Spark started to slow down,” the affidavit reads. “(Contreras) runs back up to the driver’s side of the Spark and appears to pull out a firearm from the right side of his waistband. (Contreras) has the firearm in his right hand and sticks his right hand into the open window of the driver’s side back seat area. It is at this point (Contreras) fires one round into the vehicle.”
The shooting reportedly left Zehring paralyzed.
The teenager’s spinal cord was injured in the alleged shooting, and he is paralyzed from the waist down.
“Zehring stated he observed an older male near the Spark and thought the older male was just walking through the parking lot,” a detective wrote in the affidavit. “Zehring says he started to come to a stop due to the pedestrian crossing area. Zehring said his ears starting ringing and realized he had been shot. Zehring says he turned to the west and realized he couldn’t feel his legs. Zehring stated he hit a pole in the parking lot to get the Spark to stop because he didn’t want to hit anyone in the roadway.”
Contreras was arrested on May 15, and charged with attempted murder, acccording to KSN. He was booked into Sedgwick County Jail but posted a $300,000 bond a few days later.
Zehring’s family is raising money to help with his recovery.
The teenager’s prognosis is unclear, but his family hopes he will one day be able to walk again. They’ve created a GoFundMe account to aid with medical expenses related to his injury. The fundraiser has brought in about $10,000 of a $50,000 goal thus far.
“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness, generosity, and support during this incredibly challenging time. Together, we can help my son navigate this difficult journey and give him the best chance at a hopeful future,” Kenly Zehring wrote on the fundraising page.