Sutherland Springs documentary focuses on victims of mass shooting
When filmmaker Charlie Minn heard about the mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in 2017, he was immediately struck by the actions of a neighbor who armed himself and ran to the church in hopes of putting a stop to the killings.
“This is all like a scene out of a movie,” Minn said. “I was just absolutely blown away by that courage.”
He tells the story of what the neighbor, a man named Stephen Willeford, and other community members did that day in “Miracle on 4th Street.” The documentary opens Friday at the Santikos Palladium in San Antonio and EVO Entertainment in Schertz. A Q&A session with Minn and Willeford will follow the 7:20 p.m. screening Friday at the Palladium. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the church, Minn said.
The film also offers a look into the lives of the 26 people who were killed, including Sara and Dennis Johnson, who had been married for 44 years; and the 20 people who were wounded and survived, including Ryland Ward, who was 5 years old at the time of the shooting and was shot five times.
KSAT journalists Steve Spriester and Erica Hernandez, who covered the shooting, are interviewed, as well.
The title of Minn’s film references the church’s location as well as a few things that happened that day, he said, including Willeford running toward the danger and the survival of those who were gravely injured.
“That toughness, the guts, that courage, was just overwhelming,” Minn said.
The name of the shooter — Devin Patrick Kelley, who took his own life after fleeing the church — never comes up. That is intentional.
“I think there’s too much focus on the killer,” he said. “We forget who those individual victims are, who the survivors are. Think about all the mass shootings the past five years — Parkland, Las Vegas, Midlandodessa — if you ask who the killer is, people know who it is. Next, ask to name one of the people murdered. Most would go 0 for 26.”
He also avoids political commentary in his films.
“I want to keep it on a human level,” he said. “Politics always divides a room. Humanity brings people together.”
“Miracle on 4th Street” is Minn’s 33rd film and the fifth to focus on a mass shooting. Others include “915,” which is about the 2019 shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, and “A Nightmare in Las Cruces,” which is about the 1990 shooting at a bowling alley in New Mexico.
By shedding light on these crimes, he hopes to have an impact.
“Documentaries are supposed to inform, educate and raise awareness to the highest level,” he said. “Hopefully, they will inspire change.”