Sandy Hook Promise, a Newtown nonprofit founded after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, said information provided through its hotline continues to prevent potential violence in the country.
In the latest example, the nonprofit said it received a tip through its "Say Something Anonymous Reporting System" about a threat and a picture of a gun shared on a student's social media. Sandy Hook Promise notified the FBI, and the FBI and local police traced the posts to a home in Arkansas, a spokesperson for the group said. Investigators found a handgun shown in the social media post and three rifles, according to the group.
“Since 2018, when we launched the system, we've had over 400,000 tips from young people across the country,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise. “And when it is a life safety tip, we will absolutely work with local law enforcement and/or the FBI to get that intervention made, which is what happened in the case of our 20th.”
Hockley’s son Dylan was in the first grade in Newtown when he was killed.
“Young people are some of our most important partners in prevention because they are often seeing and hearing things that adults never will,” Hockley said. “So to give them the tools and the training of how to recognize a warning sign and not be a threat assessor themselves, but to get that to a trained, trusted adult — or to an anonymous reporting system — that's critical."
Stacey Mayer, director of advocacy, policy and outreach at Connecticut Against Gun Violence, an advocacy group, said data showed that over half of U.S. gun owners store their firearms unlocked.
“We also know that in the majority of school shootings, the firearm was obtained from the shooter’s own home or that of a friend or family member,” she said. “Secure storage of firearms is absolutely critical to preventing these tragedies. It puts time and space between a person in crisis and a lethal weapon, preventing suicides, school shootings, and other gun violence.”
The Sandy Hook Promise Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is available at 1-844-572-9669 (1-844-5-SAYNOW).
