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Student organizer calls off 'West Brook Mafia' game after car crash

The game is being discouraged by the district and law enforcement due to recent violent crimes.

BEAUMONT, Texas — The "West Brook Mafia" game played every year by Beaumont High students appears to be cancelled this year.

The students who run it said this year's competition is over. 

"Someone has been hospitalized due to a wreck, and there will be no disputing this," Mafia organizers' posted on Twitter. 

"They were giving out warnings to those who played it," Beaumont resident Stephanie Smith said. 

Smith had a daughter who graduated from West Brook last year. However, she never allowed her to play the game because she felt it crossed some lines.

"Mafia Wars" is a game played between students at West Brook High School in which teams are selected and eliminate other players with water guns and balloons.

The game seems harmless, but the school district said past participants have been known to drive recklessly and trespass on private property and in homes.

"The way life is in Beaumont is right now, it's such a scary place to be," Smith said. 

Beaumont Police Officer Cody Guedry wants children to have fun, but they want to remind them that perception is everything, so a water gun needs to be a bright color, not a dark one.

The game has always been discouraged by the district. 

Editor's note: A prior version of this story included a quote from BISD Police Chief Joseph Malbrough. The quote inferred the stance against the game has been taken in response to the violence in the city's west end. To clarify, the stance has been taken, in no way, in response to the recent violence, but because of the potential risks that are involved with the game itself. BISD Police are opposed to the game, just like they have been in years past. 

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