Sandy Hook Promise PSA calls for action today to prevent 'tomorrow's school shooting'

Students and teachers speak about what they should've done to prevent a school shooting in a new ad by the gun violence prevention group.
/ Source: TODAY

A powerful new PSA urges students and teachers to take action today so that they won't be wishing they did something about a tragic school shooting that could happen tomorrow.

The one-minute, 25-second video by Sandy Hook Promise, titled "Tomorrow's News," mimics a local news broadcast in which an anchor is interviewing students, parents, police and teachers about a school shooting that will happen the next day.

The participants speak about what they should've mentioned to authorities or school administrators about a 15-year-old male gunman before it was too late.


"Tomorrow I’ll probably point out that something has seemed off with him since the beginning of the school year," a teacher says.

A mother holding a young girl is asked how she will explain the shooting to her daughter.

"Actually I won't get to explain it to her because she won't make it,'' she replies.

Sandy Hook Promise is an organization created by family members affected by the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that claimed the lives of 20 children and six adult staff members. Thursday marks five years since the shooting.

The organization aims to prevent gun-related deaths through educational and mental health programs as well as advocating for the passage of gun safety laws.

The latest PSA follows a powerful one released last year called "Evan" about the warning signs of potential gun violence by teens that has been viewed more than 10 million times.

"Tomorrow’s News” continues the conversation about the importance of knowing the signs of someone at risk and taking action, said Mark Barden, co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise, said in a news release. "The work of Sandy Hook Promise focuses on preventing gun violence before it starts. 'Tomorrow’s News' is a powerful reminder that everyone can prevent a tragedy when they know the signs."

Sheryl Crow has also released a new song, "The Dreaming Kind," to raise money for Sandy Hook Promise by having people donate when they download it.

The money goes toward Sandy Hook Promise's violence prevention programs, which have trained 2.5 million youth and adults across the country over the past three years at no cost to schools.

"We’ve had stories come back from the field that students who have followed the model have, in fact, been able to take the next step, tell a trusted adult and an intervention was made that exposed the final planning stages of school shootings - in a few cases already - an intervention was made and it was stopped,'' Barden told Adweek.

"We know the model works."

Follow writer Scott Stump on Twitter.