Sandy Hook Promise Stuns Again with Chilling Video on Gun Violence in Schools

The video promotes the organization's anonymous reporting system.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Mar 26, 2018

Sandy Hook Promise has stunned viewers again with a chilling video created to promote their anonymous reporting app for smartphones. The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System (SS-ARS) looks to peacefully combat gun violence in schools across the country, including accelerated rollout in four of the most at-risk states.

The public service ad, "The Other Side," was produced by BBDO New York and depicts a teen boy in his bedroom. He is talking about how people think a school shooting "can never happen here, but those same people are the ones who saw the signs and never said anything."

He talks about the signs of potential gun violence: being bullied, obsession with guns, and posting on social media about "shooting up the school." As the camera pulls back, revealing what the teen was busying his hands with in the closer shots, you can see an arsenal of weapons on his bed.

He locks and loads a magazine into an assault rifle and states, "I'm sure tomorrow somebody will wish they had said something," as he hoists the gun up.

The video ends with a photo of the Say Something app on a mobile phone, "Learn the signs. Say something."

SS-ARS allows students to submit secure and anonymous safety concerns to help identify and intervene upon at-risk individuals before they hurt themselves or others. Concerned students submit a tip using the SS-ARS app or website and/or call the 24/7 crisis center, which then triages the tip and dispositions it back into a participating school districts and, as needed, to law enforcement.

The organization has quite the reputation for putting out chilling PSAs. Just a few months ago, they released the video "Tomorrow's News" about a news broadcast about "tomorrow's shooting, where a 15-year-old will kill four children, two adults and then turn the gun on himself." The video shows the repetition of these violent incidents on school campuses.

Last year, Sandy Hook Promise released a video titled "Evan" which distracted viewers with one man's love story while showing the signs of violence in a background teen.