An org named after Sandy Hook and dedicated to fighting gun violence just sent a powerful message as kids head back to school … depicting a school shooting on camera.
Sandy Hook Promise debuted a new PSA Wednesday called “Back-to-School Essentials,” which starts out like your average back-to-school big box-style ad, plugging everyday products that kids use on campus.
As the PSA plays out, it spirals into a twisted scene of violence … depicting a school shooting, with students touting their products and then using them to escape and survive.
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This PSA contains graphic content related to school shootings & may be upsetting to some viewers. If you feel this subject matter may be difficult for you, you may choose not to watch. pic.twitter.com/5ijYMtXRTy— Sandy Hook Promise (@sandyhook) September 18, 2019
@sandyhook
Some of the images shown here are incredibly upsetting. You see kids being shot in the background and falling to the ground, kids bleeding from gunshot wounds … and kids ready to stab a shooter with pencils and scissors. Perhaps the most powerful moment is when a girl hiding in a bathroom stall is texting, “I love you mom.” As she plugs her excitement over having her “own phone to stay in touch,” she cries in fear.
The PSA ends with a harrowing message about back-to-school season … “It’s back to school time and you know what that means. School shootings are preventable when you know the signs.”
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 claimed the lives of 26 people, 20 of whom were children between the ages of 6 and 7. Hundreds of other mass shootings have taken place since then, including one at Stoneman Douglas High, which has led students from the school to fight back about gun violence and gun laws.