Ruben Contreras, 49, received a sentence of over 3½ years in prison for aggravated battery after shooting 18-year-old high school senior Anakin Zehring in a Goddard, Kansas Walmart parking lot on May 11, 2024. The jury acquitted him of attempted murder in November 2025, but convicted him on the battery charge stemming from the incident tied to a “senior assassins” water gun game. Zehring was left paralyzed from the gunshot wound to his lower back, which damaged his kidney and liver.
Incident Sequence
Zehring and two friends targeted Contreras’s daughter with a gel blaster toy during the game, shouting profanities and declaring themselves “senior assassins” outside the Walmart on West Kellogg Drive. The daughter and her boyfriend, unaware of the players, retreated into the store; the boyfriend later confronted the teens, who allegedly insulted him. After being chased out by store staff, the teens returned to Zehring’s blue Chevrolet Spark, where Contreras—alerted by his daughter—sprinted up and fired a single 9mm round through the rear window.
Immediate Aftermath
The vehicle crashed into shipping containers as Zehring screamed he couldn’t move; his friends fled into a nearby field. Contreras remained at the scene with his Smith & Wesson handgun and told a witness, “they shot my daughter,” explaining his actions. Zehring was rushed to a hospital in serious condition, and Contreras was arrested on-site by Sedgwick County deputies.
Legal Outcome
Contreras, from Wichita, faced charges from the 18th Judicial District DA’s office and was sentenced to the maximum 43 months by Judge Quinton Pittman. A GoFundMe by Zehring’s family highlighted the life-altering injuries, noting their lives “changed forever.”
