Cousins! The death of a 16 year old Dauphin County student has left his family with a heavy heart as they continue to search for answers surrounding his untimely passing!
According to attorney’s hired on behalf of Justin Johnson’s family, the game ‘Senior Assassin” has been placed at the forefront of a currently pending investigation. Sources state that the game serves as a rights of passage for students at the end of each school year where seniors gather and use water guns within a form of tag. The game is recorded on video and then posted across social media.
Penn Live News reports that Justin died after collapsing inside of his home on April 26th, as he was chased outside by student’s from his school. Lawyers representing the teen’s family believe that he passed away after playing the game.
Sources state that Justin was discovered on the kitchen floor, roughly an hour after several teens drove to his family’s Lower Paxton Township home. It has been indicated through obtain footage that Justin was lured outside and chased with water pistols as the teens recorded from their cellphones.
The surveillance camera’s on Justin’s home recorded one of the teens using expletive language about him as they chased him. “…just went to (expletive word used) Africa!” Officials state that it is unclear at this time if the teen who made the comment is white.
Rumors and shared videos online have issued claims that Justin passed away due to an apparent hazing incident. Though it hasn’t yet been determined, his family believes that the teens were taking part in the game Senior Assassin.
It has been state that Justin had moved from Jamaica to the United States only a year ago and was still finding his own footing in school. He had made plans to be a part of the Central Dauphin High School football team in efforts of making new friends.
“Justin was so frightened when he ran and that person jumped out of the vehicle with what he may have thought to be a weapon, that he wasn’t getting enough oxygen and died,” said Nicholas Johnson, a lawyer with Osborne & Francis Law Firm.
Sources state that within the game Senior Assassin, teams are assigned targets to “eliminate” each week. The games usually occur off of school premises during both daylight and nighttime hours. The shared videos are called “hits,’ reports Fox 43 news.
“There are too many questions out there that need to be answered, not only for Mr. Johnson and his family, but for the community as well,” said Nicholas. He has expressed that thought he has been in direct contact with investigators, he hopes that Justin’s death isn’t determined to be an “open and closed,”.
“I’m just gutted at this point because I lost the most important person in my life,” said Orville Johnson, Justin’s father. “I want the community to know that people who may look normal are not normal…they may be going through some stuff.”
A coroner ruled Justin’s death due to complications of sickle cell disease and a heart condition. It has been determined that the manner of his death was ruled as natural.
According to Fox News, an update has been issued regarding the obtain surveillance footage.
Lower Paxton Township Police issued an update on their investigation of the incident. The department said its preliminary investigation discovered:
- Video footage viewed to date does not show Justin Johnson being harmed.
- Justin re-entered his home by himself.
- Before leaving his home, Justin told his father in a phone call that he was going to play tag with friends.
At this time, the Lower Paxton Township Police Department has made it clear that they do not support claims that the teens were participating in the game Senior Assassin and that an active investigation is still ongoing.
Text messages and other lines of communication amongst the teens are also being ruled into evidence, as officers have determined that the teens visited Justin’s home twice in the last week while even hiding outside of his view. Investigators are currently searching for answers to address whether or not the teens knew he had a medical condition which limited his ability to over exhaust himself.
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