KENNESAW, GA - Fox 5 Atlanta reports that four Kennesaw State University students were arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault related to firing gel pellets from an Orbeez gel blaster gun, striking a man and his truck several times.
Police responded to an off-campus housing complex at approximately 1:00 a.m. last Thursday after a man reported being struck by gel pellets fired from inside an SUV. Police located the SUV and arrested four 18-year-old men inside the vehicle.
An investigation revealed the four men, students at the university, fired several shots at the unidentified man, striking him and his vehicle. The same group also shot Orbeez pellets at another group of people in the complex, who responded by throwing eggs at them, investigators said.
The incident was described as a “prank” between fraternities at the university known as “The Egg War.” The rivalry between fraternities started out with members throwing eggs at each other but later escalated to gel guns.
One fraternity member, Henri Germain, said the Interfraternity Council recommended that students cease engaging in the so-called “Egg War.”
The ongoing prank and subsequent arrests of the four students drew mixed reactions across the campus, with some complaining the prank had gone too far while others questioned the severity of the charges lodged against the four fraternity members.
“I just think it’s funny frat drama,” said Cassidy Murphy, a student at the Georgia-based university.
Some, however, believe such pranks can go too far and victimize others who are not part of the mayhem.
“It’s bothering me that this is going on. What if I get egged? What if my friends get egged? Eggs hurt!” said one student, Brooks Scarbrough.
Some students, however, questioned why the students were charged with felony aggravated assault.
“It’s just Orbeez, I get it can hurt people, but I don’t see a felony for this; maybe a misdemeanor,” said Isabella Franca, a Kennesaw student.
Another student named Germaine, who didn’t give his last name, said that sometimes rivalries escalate from online social media posts to actual physical confrontations.
“It started with memes and AI images and stuff like that. It was originally eggs. It’s mostly eggs, and then the Orbeez came out of nowhere,” she said.
He also showed little concern for the four arrested students.
“Make better choices. If you weren’t doing dumb stuff, you wouldn’t be in the situation you’re in now.”
Orbeez manufactures several models of “gel blaster” guns that fire gel pellets. They are similar to paintball guns. The company is based in El Paso, Texas.
The four students arrested, all 18 years old, were identified as Marcus Campbell, Olumuyiwa Awe, Cole Endriss, and Chandler Buchanan.
The university told the outlet it is following established student conduct procedures in its investigation of the incident and will then determine next steps. The university emphasized that it takes incidents such as this seriously.
No information was available on bond or court dates for the four students.
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