Documentary Film Explores 2017 Las Vegas Mass Shooting
2022-10-01
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1A new documentary series examines the worst mass shooting in American history through witness reports, videos and other material.
211 Minutes is a telling of the 2017 massacre at a country music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, and how it affected people who were there.
3The film is more than three hours long and appearing in four parts on the Paramount+ streaming service.
4"I've never felt more useful or more like the universe put me exactly where I was supposed to be," said Ashley Hoff, a survivor of the attack and lead producer of 11 Minutes.
5She was at the outdoor show on October 1, 2017, with her husband Shaun.
6They were watching Jason Aldean perform when they heard gunfire. They first thought it was fireworks.
7But then, Hoff saw a bullet hit another concertgoer in the face.
8She and Shaun began running, dropping to the ground whenever they heard gunshots.
9At one point, Hoff kicked off her cowboy boots so she could run faster.
10She and Shaun escaped to safety.
11The shooter, from high up in a hotel, killed 60 people and hurt more than 850 others.
12Nine months later, an FBI agent was at Hoff's door with her boots - part of a little-known team that returns property left behind in such incidents.
13Hoff, who was already in the film business, thought the property return was an interesting subject.
14But she soon expanded on the idea.
15Many survivors, like herself, were unhappy with media coverage of the shooting.
16They said they thought it was too concerned with the gunman instead of the victims.
17"We all went back to our corners to suffer in silence," she said.
18The film describes the event with cellphone and police body camera recordings.
19The cooperation of Las Vegas police was important to the production.
20The police provided video that shows medical teams racing to get injured people to hospitals.
21The film also includes video of special police bursting into the room where the gunman had barricaded, and then shot, himself.
22The film presents the experiences of others at the event, including Jonathan Smith and Natalie Grumet. Both were seriously wounded in the attack.
23"Is it easy to watch? No, but it shouldn't be easy to watch," said SiriusXM host Storme Warren, who was onstage in Las Vegas that night.
24"I don't know why you would tell the story if it were easy to watch."
25Warren did not immediately agree to be part of the film.
26He was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the attack.
27He also was not pleased with past media coverage on the attack.
28Hoff believes that her own experience that night, even though it is not included in the film, helped persuade some of those involved to talk.
29After the shooting stopped, police talked of hearing the rings of cellphones, unanswered, as they walked among bodies still on the ground.
30Along with concertgoers, 11 Minutes looks at the effects the violence had on emergency workers.
31"I was a very angry man. Very angry," paramedic operations chief Brian Rogers, said in the film.
32Part four of 11 Minutes begins at daybreak, October 2, 2017.
33It centers on some of the lasting ties made among survivors and rescuers.
34It is Hoff's favorite part of the series.
35"I do like to encourage people that there is goodness in the end, so hang in for that," she said.
36"There are extraordinary acts of courage and human beings helping human beings," said Susan Zirinsky, chief of the See It Now Studios production company.
37"They're just regular people. In the darkest hours, people found each other."
38Zirinsky, a former CBS News president, produced the critically praised documentary 9/11 about the 2001 terrorist attack in America.
39She considers 11 Minutes the most powerful film she's worked on since.
40The gunman, who was dead when police reached him, was 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada.
41But, the filmmakers purposely did not identify him by name.
42Days before the shooting, Paddock had searched the internet for information on how to become a social media star.
43Hoff did not want to give the killer any publicity.
44The film ends by recognizing the names of victims of every mass shooting in the United States since the attack in Las Vegas.
45"I don't call it a political statement," Zirinsky said.
46"I call it a statement of reality."
47Both Hoff and her husband escaped the show without any gunshot wounds.
48Hoff had broken her arm when she fell while running.
49That is when she left her boots behind.
50She did not notice her injury, however, until they reached safety.
51Hoff hopes the film shows the depth of damage caused by mass shootings.
52"We need to stop turning away, and we need to understand what going through this was like," she said.
53"It changes a person forever."
54I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1A new documentary series examines the worst mass shooting in American history through witness reports, videos and other material. 211 Minutes is a telling of the 2017 massacre at a country music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, and how it affected people who were there. The film is more than three hours long and appearing in four parts on the Paramount+ streaming service. 3"I've never felt more useful or more like the universe put me exactly where I was supposed to be," said Ashley Hoff, a survivor of the attack and lead producer of 11 Minutes. 4She was at the outdoor show on October 1, 2017, with her husband Shaun. They were watching Jason Aldean perform when they heard gunfire. They first thought it was fireworks. 5But then, Hoff saw a bullet hit another concertgoer in the face. She and Shaun began running, dropping to the ground whenever they heard gunshots. 6At one point, Hoff kicked off her cowboy boots so she could run faster. She and Shaun escaped to safety. The shooter, from high up in a hotel, killed 60 people and hurt more than 850 others. 7Nine months later, an FBI agent was at Hoff's door with her boots - part of a little-known team that returns property left behind in such incidents. Hoff, who was already in the film business, thought the property return was an interesting subject. But she soon expanded on the idea. 8Many survivors, like herself, were unhappy with media coverage of the shooting. They said they thought it was too concerned with the gunman instead of the victims. 9"We all went back to our corners to suffer in silence," she said. 10The film describes the event with cellphone and police body camera recordings. The cooperation of Las Vegas police was important to the production. The police provided video that shows medical teams racing to get injured people to hospitals. The film also includes video of special police bursting into the room where the gunman had barricaded, and then shot, himself. 11The film presents the experiences of others at the event, including Jonathan Smith and Natalie Grumet. Both were seriously wounded in the attack. 12"Is it easy to watch? No, but it shouldn't be easy to watch," said SiriusXM host Storme Warren, who was onstage in Las Vegas that night. "I don't know why you would tell the story if it were easy to watch." 13Warren did not immediately agree to be part of the film. He was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the attack. He also was not pleased with past media coverage on the attack. 14Hoff believes that her own experience that night, even though it is not included in the film, helped persuade some of those involved to talk. 15After the shooting stopped, police talked of hearing the rings of cellphones, unanswered, as they walked among bodies still on the ground. 16Along with concertgoers, 11 Minutes looks at the effects the violence had on emergency workers. "I was a very angry man. Very angry," paramedic operations chief Brian Rogers, said in the film. 17Part four of 11 Minutes begins at daybreak, October 2, 2017. It centers on some of the lasting ties made among survivors and rescuers. 18It is Hoff's favorite part of the series. "I do like to encourage people that there is goodness in the end, so hang in for that," she said. 19"There are extraordinary acts of courage and human beings helping human beings," said Susan Zirinsky, chief of the See It Now Studios production company. "They're just regular people. In the darkest hours, people found each other." 20Zirinsky, a former CBS News president, produced the critically praised documentary 9/11 about the 2001 terrorist attack in America. She considers 11 Minutes the most powerful film she's worked on since. 21The gunman, who was dead when police reached him, was 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada. But, the filmmakers purposely did not identify him by name. Days before the shooting, Paddock had searched the internet for information on how to become a social media star. 22Hoff did not want to give the killer any publicity. 23The film ends by recognizing the names of victims of every mass shooting in the United States since the attack in Las Vegas. 24"I don't call it a political statement," Zirinsky said. "I call it a statement of reality." 25Both Hoff and her husband escaped the show without any gunshot wounds. Hoff had broken her arm when she fell while running. That is when she left her boots behind. 26She did not notice her injury, however, until they reached safety. 27Hoff hopes the film shows the depth of damage caused by mass shootings. 28"We need to stop turning away, and we need to understand what going through this was like," she said. "It changes a person forever." 29I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 30The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. 31_____________________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33documentary - n. a movie or television program that tells about real people or events 34massacre -n. the violent killing of many people 35barricade -v. to block or prevent others from entering a place 36paramedic -n. a person whose job is to provide emergency medical care to people who are being taken to the hospital 37regular -adj. normal or usual 38encourage -v. to make people more hopeful 39______________________________________________________________________ 40What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 41Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them.