Sandy Hook Promise releases ‘back-to-school’ PSA focused on school shootings
“Chilling, heartbreaking, & difficult to watch.”
One by one the kids show off their new back-to-school essentials.
The students smile as they hold up their backpacks and binders.
But in a matter of seconds, the tone of the PSA from Sandy Hook Promise shifts.
Screams and gunshots can be heard even as the students continue to highlight their new belongings — and put them to use during a school shooting.
“These new sneakers are just what I needed for the new year,” a boy says, running away from gunshots behind him.
Scissors and colored pencils become means of defense — new socks a tourniquet for a bleeding classmate.
Hiding in a bathroom stall, a girl types a message to her mother.
“I finally got my own phone to stay in touch with my mom,” she says through tears.
The new video from Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit founded by family members whose loved ones were killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, aired for the first time Wednesday morning on the “Today” show.
It went viral within a matter of hours.
Survive the school year with these must-have #BackToSchool essentials. https://t.co/9KgxAQ0KGz
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
“If you feel a gut punch watching this new PSA from @sandyhook (and I promise that you will) today is the day to ask yourself what you are going to do to help stop school shootings,” Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy wrote on Twitter.
“Chilling, heartbreaking, & difficult to watch,” his colleague, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, wrote. “We must take action so our kids do not have to go #BackToSchool fearing for their lives. #ProtectOurKids.”
The new PSA, titled “Back-To-School Essentials,” is part of the group’s “Know the Signs” campaign, which aims to educate parents, teachers, and students on recognizing the “warning signs of violence” to intervene and prevent school shootings before they can happen. Twenty children and six staff members were killed in the shooting at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
