WACONIA, Minn. -- A Nerf War game is over—called off by the student organizers—after a car crash involving six Waconia High School students.
The crash happened Friday night near Oak Avenue and Sparrow Road in Waconia.
According to authorities, three sophomores had just finished participating in some Nerf War activity and were driving to a different location to search for more when the driver went through a stop sign and hit a vehicle with three juniors inside.
No one was injured and the driver who failed to stop at the stop sign was ticketed.
According to the Carver County Sheriff's Office, none of the students were engaged in Nerf Wars at the time of the crash and authorities said they did not believe the crash stemmed from Nerf War activities.
However, Superintendent Pat Devine of Waconia Public Schools said, "They're still having kind of erratic behavior of driving vehicles fast to the next site and getting out having their Nerf Wars. So it's not safe regardless and it's been proven not to be safe."
Superintendent Devine brought up the game during Monday's school board meeting.
"It's really a dangerous game. So I would have a conversation with your child," he said.
During Nerf Wars, players form teams and then eliminate their opponents by shooting them with a Nerf gun. The winners receive prize money.
After Friday's crash, students in charge of the Waconia Nerf 2018 Twitter account tweeted, "Due to some unfortunate events, the 2018 Waconia Nerf War is now over. Thank you for the patience and we hope you understand."
"Our kids were responsive, so we're happy for that and maybe it was a wake up call," Devine said.
In 2015, two Lakeville teenagers were killed in a car crash while playing the game.
"Quite honestly, I was surprised that it was still going on. The Lakeville tragedy was one that we all are aware of and really thought that that would put an end to the game," Devine said. "So to find out that it's still out there and kids still try to find a way to play the game, little bit alarming and something we all need to keep our pulse on... because as parents, and as teachers, and school officials, we really need to make sure that we're helping kids make good choices."
On Tuesday, the Waconia High School principal sent out an email to parents concerning Nerf Wars that said, "Waconia Public Schools does not support Nerf Wars and we hope this puts an end to the game. Please have a conversation with your children about how the dangers far outweigh the 'thrill of the game' that students may experience."
Monday, the two seniors who organized the Waconia Nerf War game met with school administrators and also told them the game was over.
Players in Waconia paid $5 to be a part of the game. Typically, that money would have been given to the winners. On Twitter, a poll showed that a majority of the players were in favor of donating the money to a food shelf.