♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, the survivors club. ten years after the sandy hook massacre shocked the nation, a club no one wanted to be a member of that's growing by the day. >> i can't look at it and not see the crime scene. the terror. >> a network of survivors traumatized in every city, in every town. >> i have survived the most horrific thing that will probably ever happen to me. so yes, i'm a survivor. >> countless lives touched by gun violence. >> you still have a scar? >> i do. this was the entry wound. >> finding comfort and strength

with each other. remembering twitch, the deejay, dancer, and dad who helped bring "the ellen degeneres show" alive. heartbroken tributes pour in. "beauty and the beast." three decades after the disney animated classic -- ♪ beast ♪ >> the timeless tale reimagined. packed with star power. >> i know there's little girls out there who are going to be watching this and saying, "i can be a disney princess too." >> laughs and plenty of surprises. ♪ a tale as old as time ♪ >> your backstage all-access pass. wish your car's air freshener didn't start so strong and then fade too soon? try febreze car vent clips. unlike other fresheners, febreze releases a consistent amount of scent, day after day, for 40 days. won't overwhelm. won't fade away. febreze car. love it or get your money back. [sfx: stomach gurgling] it's nothing... sounds like something.

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ten years ago today, sandy hook. not even that targeting children slowed gun violence in america. it's a trauma that touches somebody each and every day. new a network of survivors is coming together to turn their pain into purpose. coanchor, byron pitts. >> we're driving into the heart

of downtown. >> i can't look at it and not see the crime scene. the terror. >> reporter: for linsey hartman, independence day will never be the same. >> i've come to this parade my entire life. my daughter scarlet was standing right here, dancing in the street, having the time of her life when the first shots started to fire up. >> reporter: the highland park fourth of july shooting. one of more than 600 mass shootings this year. linsey, her husband danny, and their 4-year-old daughter scarlet were there when horror happened. >> breaking news for you, a horrific scene unfolding. this is just outside of chicago. >> i looked at my husband, and he looked at me, and we just nonverbally knew that we had to run for our

and i said, "protect her, don't worry about me, it will slow you down, just go." it's still pretty rough. you know. there's a lot of emotions that are still very much at the surface. >> like what? >> fear. gratitude. terror. >> what did you lose that day, do you think? >> the best way i can describe it is, i don't feel safe. my world has just become a lot smaller because of my comfort zone. >> reporter: the family escaping physically unharmed. but mentally scarred. >> it just doesn't go away just because the camera crews and the headlines go away. it's something that sticks with you forever. > reporter: as the gun violence survivor, lindsay is certainly not alone. on average in this country, more than 115,000 people are shot by a gun every year. for the last 30 years, guns have claimed more than 1 million lives.

but there are millions more like linsey who were shot at and survived, witnessed violence, or lost a loved one. >> our stories are all uniquely different. but are bound together by a lot more commonalities than differences. my experience is america's experience. it is a profound public health crisis. >> we don't deal with the danger and the violence of gun violence the way we need to until it's at our door. >> we need to stop valuing guns more than we value human beings. >> reporter: survivors across the country part of a unique club they never asked to join that's growing bigger every day. finding solace in one another and fighting for change. >> greg isn't here to make new memories. and so this is all i have left of him. >> reporter: valerie's 23-year-old son, craig, was shot

and killed nine years ago while buying chewing gum at a chicago convenience store. his case still unsolved. >> this was actually taken the night that he was killed. he was a hooper and he loved, loved, loved basketball. >> it's still hard all these years later? >> it will never be safe. right after he was killed, i just felt this need to scream. but i couldn't. because i knew if i started screaming, i wouldn't be able to stop. so i held that scream in and i still hold that scream in. >> listening to you in this moment, i don't as much hear survivor as i hear victim of an awful crime. >> no, i'm not a victim but i have survived the most horrific thing that will probably ever happen to me.

>> reporter: valerie joining every town, an advocacy network for those touched by gun violence. >> the survivor network is compiled of thousands across the country. they've had various gun violence experiences with them. whether it's directly injured, wounded, had a loved one taken, maybe threatened. >> good morning, linsey. >> reporter: valerie from the south side and linsey from highland park met through this community. >> relationships are powerful because you really don't have to explain yourself. >> reporter: two women from different parts of chicago connecting through shared experience. today the two meeting face-to-face for the first time. >> i'm so glad to finally meet you. >> what does she give, what did you get? >> i really love her and look up to her so much.

seeing what down the line can look like certainly is really valuable. >> i think the first time we talked, it was real emotional. you could see how that day impacted her life. she's like, i'm sorry. i'm like, no, no, you don't ever apologize for your feelings. you feel what you feel. that day upended your world. >> val buried a son and that is unimaginable. that is the worst kind of pain for any parent. but she never looked at me and says, your pain is less. >> reporter: val and linsey's healing journey together, just beginning. another duo -- >> jackie and i have fully adopted each other. >> reporter: supporting each other for years. pastor jackie jackson and psychologist doer reason dodge mcgee met through the survivor network four years ago. >> i took food off of jackie's plate when we were at a meeting together. >> she reached over, no

conversation. >> that's a bridge too far. >> reached over and took it. i said, "hold up." "you've got to be family to take food off my plate." she said, "we'll have to adopt each other." and we did. >> reporter: the pair consider each other siblings. jackie felt the sting of a bullet when he was a 10-year-old buy in ohio. >> you still have the scar? >> i do. >> this was the entry wound. you can see where it was stitched. somehow it passed through and it didn't break. a bone. at all. >> reporter: this trauma sadly a constant in his life. >> i've had eight family members whose lives have been taken by gun violence. >> eight relatives shot and killed? >> and i just gave you in the last nine years. >> reporter: doreen's sister-in-law and three young pieces nieces gunned down by her estranged brother-in-law 27 years ago in oregon. this.hardly ever talk about - so he shot his way in. and that pushed them all to the front yard.

my mother-in-law, as far as i know, was holding one of the girls. sarah was 5 years old, rachel was 3 years old, april was 5 months old. >> i notice as you told your story that jackie put his hand at your back. i guess that was part pastor. but it also seemed like part friend. part brother. >> absolutely. yeah. >> reporter: today the two are in washington, d.c. at the gun violence memorial. each glass brick here honoring a loved one. >> all of this is one family. >> oh. >> those 700 bricks represent the 700 people killed each week. but those 700 bricks don't acknowledge, and we need to acknowledge, the thousands who are shot and wounded or threatened with a gun. >> this is actually a vial of some of his ashes. >> reporter: both jackie and doreen's loved ones are memorialized here. >> rachel loved everything sparkly.

so these are some of her hair things. she was actually wearing this that day. and it's something that i was able to get back that was really meaningful. >> all of these individuals, from the babies to the adults, these are people who -- they're lives. they're not statistics. >> reporter: jackie and doreen have grown so close, even spending time with one another's families. >> it has been an important part of my growth, being able to have fun. >> fun? i didn't expect to hear that word in this conversation. >> oh, yeah. >> we have a ball. >> we do, we do. >> why is that important? >> it is so important because the world is so heavy when this is your reality. >> reporter: back in chicago, linsey and valerie break bread with other gun violence survivors. >> do you ever think, man, i just -- i just want to get away from the heaviness? >> absolutely. >> therefore, i don't want to be a part of this group? >> yes. >> yes, yeah. >> yes. >> >> but we have a purpose to

bring out eyewearawareness and prevention and let people know that gun violence is not normal. >> we manage the space for each other and ourselves. i say this unequivocally, saved my life. >> reporter: together, hoping and fighting to save the lives of others. >> our thanks to byron. up next, the perfect holiday escape. we take you behind the scenes, as disney re-imagines the timeless tale, "beauty and the beast." ♪ tales as old as time ♪ ♪ song as old as rhyme ♪ ♪ beauty and the beast ♪ it nee. ray's a1c is down with rybelsus®. i'm down with rybelsus®. my a1c is down with rybelsus®. in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus® significantly lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill. in the same study, people taking rybelsus® lost more weight.

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it's known as the tale as perhaps a ftrscendsim beast" is back. this time it's live and on stage. zohreen shah has the backstage pass. >> we are in the set right now. >> there's candelabras everywhere. >> reporter: lighting the way for us behind the scenes of the upcoming tv show he's starring in, "beauty and the beast", advers anniversary edition. the animated film, a disney classic ever since its 1991 release. three decades later, we're getting a backstage speak to peek at the live action and

animated blended special. singer and songwriter, h.e.r. and josh groban. >> it's interesting to me how the role of the beast has grown and evolved over the last 30 years. there's a lot of arc in what the beast is going through. it's only natural that songs got written for the transformation that the beast is making through all this. and thou now 30 years later we have a chance to celebrate that but also add elements of where that journey has taken these characters. ♪ tale as old as time ♪ >> reporter: with the recording artist simply known as h.e.r., plague

playing belle is a departure for her. did you grow up wanting to be a disney princess? >> i grew up like 5 years old and watched it on vhs. >> reporter: you're the first person of color to portray belle. >> it's exciting. there weren't many or any princesses who look like me. i know therera lot are a lot ofe girls who say i can be disney princesses. >> reporter: martin short and david alan grier play an equally iconic duo, the clock. >> have i played furniture?

no, that's been the reviews. some said i'd rather see a couch in at tthat role than him. but no, i've never really played furniture before. >> i'm the first black man to ever play an imaginary talking clock. >> reporter: that's true. that's really true. >> you know what? that would and very short list. >> it's pretty short and important. ♪ unfold your menu ♪ ♪ you take a glance ♪ ♪ and then be our guest, be our guest be our guest ♪ >> to be serious, i love martin short to death. and when i heard about the project, i was like, if he does it, i'll do it. that's really why i'm here. i love "be our guest", because it's mostly him singing and working and i watch. >> reporter: and don't forget shania twain who famously sang ♪ man, i feel like a woman ♪

>> reporter: paying homage to the iconic angela lansbury. ♪ true as it can be ♪ ♪ barely even friends ♪ ♪ then somebody bends unexpectedly ♪ >> reporter: your character is this loveable character who brings everyone together. what was it like to step into this fantasy world? >> angela lansbury was always my favorite character in the story. so the fact that i'm actually playing mrs. potts is very touching as well, because she's no longer with us. there's an emotional element to it. >> reporter: what do you want fans to know? what do you want them to think about as they're tuning in in. >> this story has bridged these generations. let it take you away and let it bond you as the timeless story that it is. >> reporter: tale as old as time, right? >> tale as old as time. >> reporter: as the artists and crew add finishing ups, t

tab stage is set to bring it to life. >> i want people to be in the moment with me and find their own disney princess within themselves. i'm having so much fun, i hope that people have fun just watching and i hope they enjoy it as much as i do. >> our thanks to zohreen shah. the spernl airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. eastern on abc and streams on disney plus the next day. coming up, the tragicness about dj steven "twitch" boss as fans pay tribute to the star. when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis persists... put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. when uc held me back... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq.

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and finally tonight, the heartbreaking news about a perform performer, beloved by millions. twitch was found dead today at a los angeles hotel. his authentic charm and infectious smile helped bring

the ellen degeneres show to life. she said in a statement he was pure love and light. former first lady michelle obama who worked with twitch on her "let's move" initiative called him an incredible force, someone who radiated kindness and positivity. the father of three died by suicide. he was just 40 years old. and for anyone struggling with thoughts of self-harm, free help is available. text or call the crisis line at 988. that's "nightline." you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back