There’s a new fad brewing at Christ Church this spring. The new “SplatRBall” trend has seen many Christ Church students arm themselves with water bead guns, besieging each other’s houses and cars with the weapons.

“They don’t hurt that bad at all,” said senior Mason Johnstone, “They definitely hurt more than Nerf guns but less than airsoft, it’s a good medium between the two.” 

Despite being fairly mild in pain, the guns have still caused some fear in the heart of Christ Church students.

“I’ve definitely been more on edge now,” Johnstone told CCES News, “I went to the movies with my girlfriend and she wanted to post a photo of us on Snapchat, and I told her not to because I didn’t want my friends showing up and attacking us.”

Some students, however, are put at ease by a code of ethics put in place by their peers: you can only ‘attack’ someone if they have a SplatRBall gun as well.

“I haven’t really been too worried at all,” said junior Thomas Clark. “The rule of thumb is you only shoot someone if they have a gun too.”

However, some students have not been so lucky, as senior Chandler McMaster describes being “‘jumped’ multiple times, despite not owning a gun himself.” 

As the fad gains momentum on TikTok and students feel increased pressure to purchase the near $120 guns, the chance remains that the trend may be taken too far. Incidents of use of the guns in public, resulting in serious injury and police involvement, have occurred nationwide, with Sheriff’s offices all around the country warning against the trend. 

As the trend continues to gain steam, Christ Church students are being forced to evaluate whether or not they serve as a net positive. 

“The fun definitely outweighs the fear, 100%,” said Johnstone.

It remains unseen whether or not the fad will die out, but, for the moment, SplatRBall guns have the CCES community in a tight grip.