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Sandy Hook Promise's powerful PSA shows the world through the eyes of a school shooter

The video aims to educate people on how to see the warning signs that lead to a school shooting and intervene before it's too late.
/ Source: TODAY

A chilling new PSA highlights the dangers of missing the warning signs of a potential school shooter by showing the world through the eyes of the shooter himself.

The one-minute, 50-second video by Sandy Hook Promise was released on Monday, four days ahead of the sixth anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that claimed the lives of 20 children and six adult staff members.

Titled "Point of View," the video depicts a regular day at a high school ahead of a student body election as seen through the eyes of a student.

It later becomes apparent that the view of the day is coming from the perspective of the shooter, who is ignored and ridiculed. He ultimately bursts into the school auditorium with an automatic weapon and yells "Look at me!"

"Most people only notice a shooter once it's too late,'' a message on the video reads. "See the signs and stop a shooting before it happens."

The PSA was created by Rupert Sanders, the Hollywood director behind "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "Ghost in the Shell."

The clip is part of Sandy Hook Promise's "Know the Signs" campaign that looks to educate students, teachers and parents about seeing the signs of a potential school shooter and intervening before it's too late.

About 80 percent of school shooters and 70 percent of people who die by suicide told someone of their plans but no interventions were made, according to Sandy Hook Promise. There have been 3,200 kids or teens killed or injured by gun violence in 2018 and 300 mass shootings, according to the organization.

"This is unacceptable,'' Sandy Hook Promise co-founder Nicole Hockley, whose son was killed in the Newtown shooting, said in a news release.

"While we saw a resurgence in the gun reform space thanks to the brave young adults taking center stage following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, there is more work to be done. Everyone has the power to stop violence before it starts, and we want to arm people with the knowledge of how to keep their schools and communities safe."

The latest video follows the powerful Sandy Hook Promise PSAs "Tomorrow's News" and "Evan" that also show the warning signs of gun violence in schools.

Sandy Hook Promise was created by family members of the victims in the wake of the 2012 shooting in Newtown. 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 organization has trained more than 5.5 million people in 50 states since 2014 about seeing the warning signs that can lead to school shootings. Its "Know the Signs" programs are offered for free to schools and youth organizations.

It also has created the "Say Something Anonymous Reporting System," an app that lets students report concerns anonymously in 152 school districts across 25 states.