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WATCH: High school love story actually has tragic message

An advert that seems to play out like many others, actually has a very important message to teach viewers.
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Seeming to tell the story of a burgeoning high-school romance in America, the ad starts out by following Evan – a ginger kid who likes to graffiti on library desks.

Soon, someone begins writing back to him, and the two strike up regular exchanges through carving words into the wood.

As the story develops, we’re rooting for young Evan, as he tries to find out who his mystery pen pal is.

And just as the clip is about to finish, Evan finds her – with the two striking up a conversation on the last day of school before summer.

Then, in a shock twist, the school hall doors swing open and a gunman loads his rifle.

It’s then that the true nature of the ad is revealed – this isn’t a high school love story, this is a reminder that people who partake in gun violence often show many signs they are going that way – and it’s everyone’s job to look out for them.

“While you were watching Evan, another student was showing signs of planning a shooting,” reads the ad.

“But no one noticed.

Flicking through scenes in the ad again, a boy in the background is seen reading and researching automatic weapons, being bullied, and appearing withdrawn from other students.

“Gun violence is preventable,” it reminds us. “When you know the signs.”

The advert was created for The Sandy Hook Promise, an organisation set up by professionals and those who lost family members during the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut in 2012.

28 people, mainly children aged 6 and 7, were killed when 20-year-old Adam Lanza drove to the school and shot them with a semi-automatic rifle.

Since Sandy Hook, there have been dozens of further mass shootings at US schools, resulting in over two dozen deaths.

The Sandy Hook Promise works to tighten gun controls, educate youngsters on the signs of a shooter, and encourage better mental health services in the community.

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