After Lakeville Crash, Prior Lake High Debates 'Nerf Wars'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Monday is the start of a game where, after school, Prior Lake students are trying to win thousands of dollars.
But just a few months ago, in a neighboring town, that game had a deadly ending.
In "Nerf Wars," students try to tag each other after or before school with foam bullets, and the last one standing wins a cash pot. Two Lakeville students -- Johnny Price and Jake Flynn -- lost their lives in a car crash late last year while playing.
In Prior Lake, there's a Twitter page devoted to the game. The school's principal knows, and so do people a town over who are aching from the news.
"Really we don't have any jurisdiction, but we are very concerned for our students safety," Prior Lake High School Principal David Lund said.
The Nerf game is played off campus - a game most students are familiar with.
"A lot of people are actually doing it. It's really popular." Prior Lake senior Josh Glassman said. "It's just like, something to do."
Principal Lund sent a note to parents warning them the game was on.
"We have to be sensitive to our neighbors," Lund said. "They lost somebody."
Taylor Hayden is one of those neighbors
"To not have Jake here for all that senior stuff is hard," she said.
Hayden just got back from spring break, but her number four wasn't there. Jake and his friend Johnny died in a crash during a Nerf game in Lakeville.
"When I heard about Nerf War, I was offended," she said. "It just hurt that a neighborhood right next door would want to participate when I just lost my best friend."
Prior Lake senior Nick Raddatz says he's not playing.
"I think kids now are looking more at the dangerous aspects," he said.
Hayden says it's hard to think about until it's too late.
"You never imagine losing your son, your best friend, your brother, to a Nerf game," she said.
But the end of her love story proves that can happen. Students say because of what happened there will be stricter rules about speeding and safety.
There's another student who wants the game stopped all together -- the girlfriend of the other Lakeville victim, Johnny.
"The nerf game is a factor in the saddest, most broken part of my life and so many others' lives," Johnny's girlfriend Elizabeth Barnes said in a statement. "I lost the most important person in my world while he was playing it. So I'd encourage Prior Lake not to start a nerf war not only out of respect for Johnny and Jake, not only out of respect for those of us who are hurting, but also out of respect for their own students' lives. No game, no fun, is worth the risk of losing those most dear to you. You think you can control what happens, but accidents still happen."
