Run, Hide, Fight: Growing up under the gun is a documentary from PBS News Student Reporting Labs about young people’s experiences with gun violence, collaboratively produced with 14 student producers from five cities across the U.S cities: Philadelphia, Oakland, Washington D.C., Nashville, and East Lansing. Available on PBS News YouTube, the PBS App, and PBS.org on October 9.
Gun violence is a part of life in America, but how do young people experience it and what is it like to be part of a generation growing up with the threat of school shootings and random acts of violence? What is the real toll on their mental health and sense of safety? In 2023 more than 5,000 teens were killed or injured by gun violence. In 2017, guns became the leading cause of death among young people– surpassing car crashes.
Even people who are not directly impacted can still be affected by fear, loss, grief, and trauma. Violence has become so normalized that many schools regularly engage in active shooter drills and training to prepare students for an attacker. In early 2023, during a deadly mass shooting, students at Michigan State University received text messages instructing them to “run, hide, fight” in an effort to save lives. This documentary explores those actions from many different perspectives.
A nationally representative survey found half of 14 to 17‑year‑olds in the U.S. worry about school shootings, and nearly six in ten report that they “have recently thought about what would happen if a person with a gun entered” their school or a school nearby. The U.S. Surgeon General recently released an advisory declaring firearm violence in America a public health crisis.
Although mass shootings get a lot of attention in the news, other forms of gun violence – unintentional shootings, gang violence, crimes, and suicides–happen every day across the country.
Use the guide below to start a conversation about this important issue with the people you care about and learn with.
In this documentary, viewers meet several young people who are working to find ways to address gun violence in their communities. What work is happening like this in your community? Research a person or organization in your community that is working towards solutions to gun violence, and learn more about interventions that have worked to have a positive impact.
Additional resources on gun violence and how to have thoughtful conversations on this topic with young people
1 hour