New York Filmmaker Charlie Minn stands with family member of victim of SY massacre (Photo by Barbara Zaragoza)
By Barbara Zaragoza
On a busy afternoon in 1984, a white man entered a McDonalds and for 77 minutes shot and then re-shot customers and employees. 21 people died and 19 were wounded. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in United States history.
That very day, the killer had been up in Clairemont Mesa arguing to a judge against a parking ticket. He then ate at a McDonald’s without incident. Originally from Ohio, the shooter had moved to Tijuana, but lost his job there and then came to San Ysidro and worked as a security guard.
Notice how I refuse to say the name of the killer. Charlie Minn, director of a new documentary about the McDonald’s Massacre in San Ysidro, also refuses to pay much attention to that individual. A filmmaker known for telling gut-wrenching stories— including Murder Capital of the World and Es El Chapo?—Minn began interviews for the San Ysidro film last May 2016. He focused on the victims and their lingering pain even after thirty years.
San Ysidro McDonalds Massacre: A Hate Crime
On Thursday, September 22nd and Friday, September 23rd Minn gave a pre-screening of the film, very appropriately, at The Front Art Gallery in the heart of San Ysidro. Often gruesome to watch, the documentary presents footage taken by the police immediately after the shootings: a young boy shot and lying bleeding on the ground next to his bike. An 8-month-old baby with a chest wound, lifeless on the restaurant floor.
The horrifying images interweave with interviews from the victims. A woman—who lives in Mexico today—still bears the scars: a glass eye and a gash across her entire belly. She is unable to sleep more than five hours because of her physical ailments. That day, the gunman also shot her 18-month-old daughter in the head. Her daughter survived, but many other children did not.
Television anchor Carlos Amezcua explains that after the shooting, he received a call at the TV station from the gunman’s wife. She wanted to let Amezcua know her husband hated immigrants, especially Mexicans.
Did the SDPD Make Mistakes?
Minn doesn’t just place blame on the gunman, but also asks police officers and SWAT team members why it took so long for them to get to take down the killer. The police, at first, went to the wrong McDonald’s. Once at the correct McDonald’s, the SWAT team stood around, rather than storming the building, not realizing the extent of the mayhem inside. Some say that so much time went by, a few victims bled to death although they could have been saved. Minn also interviewed former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders who at the time was commander of the SWAT team. Minn asked hard questions about whether the SDPD could have done a better job.
At The Front’s pre-screening, Executive Director Lisa Cuestas explained that Casa Familiar, the only non-profit organization in San Ysidro at that time, provided help the victims with funds and other support.
The Victims Have Names
Charlie Minn gave a Q&A session after each screening. When asked if he would have contacted the shooter’s wife if she was still alive, he said: “Probably not. I’ll admit, we put a lot more info about the killer at the end. The fact that I didn’t mention his name is telling, but I felt that the audience needed a little bit. A little. So I did the bare minimum on him.”
The film notes that the shooter’s wife sued McDonalds for five million dollars, claiming the food caused her husband to commit the mass shooting.
She lost the lawsuit.
Minn said about this documentary, the only one ever made about the McDonald’s massacre in 30 years, “I think the film helps keep it [the memory] alive. It finally gives the victims a voice. The victims in this case have been viewed as statistics. If you ask the average San Diegan, ‘Can you name one victim out of the forty that were shot?’ I don’t think the average San Diegan can name one… This movie will keep it alive to a point where people will get to know the victims and have the killer completely ignored.”
77 Minutes is still showing this week at UltraStar Cinemas Mission Valley-Hazard Center.
Do we actually have to relive this horror? There are enough horrors happening in real time these days to satisfy even the most addled horror movie addict. That’s practically all that is being covered by the media these days. It’s getting to the point where I’m tuning out the Evening News in order to keep my sanity.
Normally, I would agree with you, John. But this film is very different. Profound, it finally takes a look at the pain of the victims…. Something that most media don’t do.
It really asks: if we all went into each other’s pain rather than focusing on the perpetrators or our anger, would society be better off? Would we grow our empathy enough for such horrors to stop?
In preparation for his interview with former mayor Jerry Sanders, I wonder if film maker Charley Minn had come across the following La Prensa commentary, published on August 19, 2005, pointedly questioning the role Jerry Sanders played in the San Ysidro massacre:
“It is difficult to accept that Jerry Sanders believes that the Mexican American population, of the City of San Diego, could ever forget or forgive his role in the massacre that was carried out by James Oliver Huberty, at four O’clock in the afternoon, on the 18th of July 1984, at the San Ysidro McDonalds restaurant in San Ysidro. When the violence and smoke had cleared, on that day, 22 victims lay dead, and 15 others lay seriously wounded! The majority of the victims were Mexican American children, their mothers, younger brothers and sisters and a few Grandmothers. Jerry Sanders, on that day, was the commander of the San Diego Police Departments SWAT team!
In the aftermath, of the massacre, questions began to surface. Where were the police from the San Ysidro Police Outpost? Where was the SWAT team and their Commander, Jerry Sanders? Why was their response time so slow? Why was the police station in San Ysidro so lightly armed and short of personnel? Why did it take so long for the SWAT team to arrive?
We cannot forget that while James Oliver Huberty was busy murdering the innocent victims, Jerry Sanders, who was the Commander of the Swat team, was busy drinking with other policemen at a special police event in Mission Bay. We can’t forget that the members of the SWAT team couldn’t get into their armored vehicle. Someone had misplaced the necessary 2nd key to the vehicle. Could it be that Jerry Sanders had it?
Why did Jerry Sanders rescind the orders, given by the Police Lieutenant on the scene, for a police sniper to take out Huberty? Many lives could have been saved. Why did the Commander of the Swat team, who was not on the scene, override the commands of the senior police officer present on the site of the massacre? Isn’t it policy that the on-site senior officer is the commander until relieved on the scene? Why were the on-site police ordered to lie for over 40 minutes behind walls while the murderous Huberty continued his slaughter of the innocent children, women, teenagers and senior citizen?
It was revealing that the leadership of the Police Department failed to promote him for 13 times to a significant post thereafter. However on May 17, 1993, City Manager Jack McGrory picked him to succeed Chief Bob Burgreen. Mayor Golding and her City Council approved the promotion. It is also instructive to note that the rank and file, within the Department, highly disapproved of Jerry Sanders.
Unanswered questions still remain that need to be asked of Mr. Sanders: Why didn’t you order the on scene commander to lob tear gas and/or smoke bombs to roust Huberty out before so many innocents were massacred? Why was the Police substation in San Ysidro so seriously under-manned and under-armed? Why did two Staff Officers, who had no “fire-fight” experience, lead the attack against Huberty? Was it because your Line Officers were partying with you? Why did you order that “Command and Control” of the massacre site be turned over to you while you were 20 miles away from McDonalds Restaurant?
As the Commander of the SWAT team, its Armored Van, and Personnel, you knew it took two keys, one held by the SWAT Commander and the other by Central Division Officer to open the SWAT Van? Didn’t you have the 2nd required key in your pocket while you partied?
As you can see, the Mexican American community has a lot of unanswered questions about your abilities and leadership. You were the man in the hot seat on July 18, 1984 when a man named James Oliver Huberty decided to murder 22 people in San Ysidro. We know that the Chief of Police was W.B. Kolender, and that the Mayor was Roger Hedgecock. In spite of the role that Sanders played in the San Ysidro massacre, City Manager Jack McGrory picked Sanders to succeed Chief Bob Burgreen as San Diego’s Police Chief. Mayor Susan Golding and the City Council went along with it. Politics played a prominent role in his selection as Sanders was held in low esteem by a large segment of the Police force.
Now, the Republican leadership of San Diego is trying to have Mr. Jerry Sanders elected as the next Mayor of San Diego. La Prensa San Diego cannot accept the Republicans choice of Mr. Sanders to be the City of San Diego’s next Mayor! It is our opinion that the Republican leadership has a death wish and rather than support the best in their Party, they continue to foist upon the citizens the worse candidates that they have.
Especially, since the next Mayor will be the first one that will operate under a “Chicago- style” strong Mayor system of governance.
The Mexican American voters will find it very difficult to accept Jerry Sanders as their next Mayor. His incompetence, in the Massacre of 22 of their community by James Oliver Huberty, places in the limelight, the total incompetence and leadership of Mr. Jerry Sanders forever!
(http://laprensa-sandiego.org/archieve/august19-05/sanders.htm)
Indeed, Norma, he did. Minn asked Sanders very hard questions based on this article.