This PSA about high school shootings is truly harrowing

The families of children killed during the infamous Sandy Hook mass shooting have created a harrowing “back to school” video on how to survive a school shooting in an attempt to raise awareness about the topic.

The video starts lighthearted, with a camera panning to a young boy with a bag. He said: “My mum got me the perfect bag for back to school.”

Slowly the video becomes darker as one boy puts on the “headphones he needs for studying” as a mass shooting begins in the library behind him.

Another boy shows off the skateboard his parents got him before he smashes open a window in an attempt to flee from a shooter, and another scene shows two children hiding in a classroom as screaming and shooting can be heard outside the door.

A girl wearing knee-high rainbow socks talks about how it’s a “lifesaver” before she uses it to stem the flow of blood on a peer’s knee, from a gunshot wound.

The disturbing video concludes with a weeping school girl hiding in a toilet and texting, “I love you mum,” before a door creaks opens off-camera.

Gun crime is a growing problem in the US. According to the Gun Violence Archive as of 19 September 2019, there have been 10,710 gun-related deaths in the country, including 502 children killed or injured between the ages of 0 and 11.

The number skyrocketed to 2,215 when looking at teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17.

This year there have been a number of high profile mass shootings. El Paso Walmart shooting killed 22 people and became the seventh-worst mass shooting in the history of America.

In fact, of the top ten worst mass shootings in the history of the country, seven occurred in the last seven years.

Conservatives in the US often place the blame on mental health issues and violent video games, rather than the proliferation of guns.

You can watch the full advert in the video below.

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