North Carolina school shooting prevented after students "Say Something" to get help

NEWTOWN, Conn., Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A tragedy was recently averted in North Carolina, when Sandy Hook Promise's National Crisis Center for their Say Something Anonymous Reporting System (SS-ARS) received multiple calls and texts about a student's violent plan for a mass school shooting attack.

The Crisis Center team worked with district officials and local authorities to uncover the direct threat indicating that the student intended to do harm at the elementary, middle, and high schools in Elkin City. The Say Something anonymous tips led to the district shutting down all schools for the day for further investigation. Later, an arrest was made as the threat was determined to be credible. The student had both a plan and access to a weapon.

"If it wasn't for those students speaking up, the day could have ended in tragedy," said Elkin City Schools Superintendent Myra Cox. "The Say Something program gave students the information and anonymous reporting tools they needed to take action."

Sandy Hook Promise created the Say Something program to empower students to act on what they see and hear, in order to help others and avert tragedies. Extensive research, including a federal report on Averting Targeted School Violence, proves that by learning the warning signs and getting help, violence can effectively be prevented.

"I'm grateful to the students who likely saved many lives with their courageous actions," said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. "Students are often the first to know when there is cause for safety concerns. By encouraging more students to learn the warning signs, empowering them to speak up and giving them an easy, anonymous way to 'say something,' we can prevent more tragedies from happening."

More than 18.5 million youth and adults have participated in SHP's Know the Signs programs in schools and youth organizations nationwide. To date, SS-ARS has responded to more than 171,000 tips, averted at least 14 credible school shooting attacks, and saved more than 400 young lives from suicide (February 2023). The National Crisis Center and SS-ARS are proven approaches that prevent school shootings and violence.

"There were 46 school shootings in 2022, more than in any year since the Columbine tragedy. As a result, 34 students and adults were killed," said Hockley. "Lives are saved when students and community members know the warning signs, speak up, and get help. Let's get prevention programs in every school so we can protect more lives."

Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to end school shootings and create a culture change that prevents violence and other harmful acts that hurt children. Through its life-saving, evidence-informed "Know the Signs" prevention programs, SHP educates and empowers youth and adults to recognize, intervene, and get help for individuals who may be socially isolated and/or at risk of hurting themselves or others. Through nonpartisan policy and partnerships, SHP advances gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education at the state and federal levels that protect all children from gun violence in their schools, homes, and communities. SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. 

SOURCE Sandy Hook Promise