A Humans vs. Zombies game at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., was shut down this week after an alleged gang-related threat, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.
A Transylvania student, who was playing the game and wearing a zombie-identifying red bandana, was walking near campus when an SUV pulled alongside him around 10:15 p.m. Sunday and three men inside told the student he was in the wrong territory, according to the Herald-Leader. If the student did not remove the bandana, the men allegedly said, they would shoot him.
Humans vs. Zombies is essentially a version of the game tag. One participant is designated as a "zombie" with an identifying bandana and that person tries to tag the other "human" players, who then become zombies as well and have to don the same bandanas. To stun a zombie, the human players may shoot them with foam darts or throw socks at them.
Lexington police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts told the Herald-Leader that the student, who was not named in local media reports, could not recall which gang the men claimed to be affiliated with.
"It's hard to verify if this was a prank or something more serious," Roberts said.
The student reported the incident to campus authorities, and a safety alert was sent out to students a short time later advising the Humans vs. Zombies players to remove their bandanas.
Bob Brown, associate dean of student affairs at Transylvania, told WKYT that students have played the game on campus for the past three years without incident. According to the Humans vs. Zombies website, the game started at Goucher College in 2005.
The game at Transylvania is now on indefinite suspension, Lex18 reports.