Canutillo ISD releases footage to ABC-7 of “Senior Assassin” prank more than one year after an open records request

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The Canutillo Independent School District has now released to ABC-7 the surveillance footage of a "Senior Assassin" school prank involving water guns, which made some students afraid.

The "Senior Assassin" game was a trend that was popular among teens and that had been banned by some schools. Those participating would be assigned a target with the objective of tagging out that assigned target.

ABC-7 previously reported the school prank happened at Canutillo High School, where 10 students were suspended as a result.

The surveillance footage shows students playing volleyball at Canutillo High School's gym when one student entered, pointing a water gun at the group.

Students are seen running to a different exit in the gym at the sight of the student pointing the water gun. One student can even be seen crawling on their knees to hide away under a table at the gym.

As students raced towards the exit, another student appeared holding a water gun in that same direction, causing students to run across the gym.

After many of the students are driven into a corner of the gym, the two students holding water guns appear to leave, and the situation deescalates.

Additional video shows more students in Canutillo High School's hallway playing the "Senior Assassin" game with other students running away from those with water guns.

This prank had taken place on March 28, 2023, one day after a school shooting in Nashville.

On Friday, August 16, the Texas Attorney General's Office sent a letter to Canutillo ISD's director of communications, Gustavo Reveles. The letter demanded Reveles to comply with the state's Public Information Act after he had failed to respond to various requests for information, including one of our own.

In the letter sent out by the Texas Attorney General's Office, Reveles was also asked to complete an open records training within 60 days and to send a certificate of completion to the office within 60 days.

ABC-7 had filed an open records request to obtain this surveillance footage since April of last year and had not received the footage until Tuesday, August 20, 2024.