San Bernardino County Documentary Reframes Dec. 2 Terror Attack Through Victims, Survivors

More than a decade after 14 people were killed in the Dec. 2, 2015, terrorist attack at the Inland Regional Center, three San Bernardino County filmmakers set out to tell a story they believed had too often been framed around the attackers rather than the people whose lives were changed.

The result is “We Remember | December 2, 2015,” a county documentary released in July that took an entire year to create and centers on family members of those killed, survivors, first responders and community leaders. Rather than reconstructing the violence, the film focuses on remembrance, recovery and the ways people have carried the tragedy forward.

San Bernardino County multimedia production specialists Shanele Alvarez, Branson Tay and Megan Perez began developing the project as the 10th anniversary approached. Alvarez said the team was given an opportunity to pursue a passion project outside its normal assignments, and Tay suggested revisiting Dec. 2.

“We realized that the incident had only ever been talked about through who did it and why they did it,” Alvarez said. “We wanted to really tell a story from that perspective of paying tribute to who these victims were and survivors, everyone that was involved.”

Fourteen people were killed and 22 were physically injured during the attack, which occurred while employees of the county’s Environmental Health Services division were attending a training event.

Those killed were Robert Adams, Isaac Gebreslassie Amanios, Bennetta Betbadal, Harry “Hal” Bowman, Sierra Simone Sunshine Clayborn, Juan Carlos Espinoza de Santiago, Aurora Luz Godoy, Shannon Hilliard Johnson, Daniel Kaufman, Damian L. Meins, Tin Nguyen, Nicholas Thalasinos, Yvette Alexandra Velasco and Mike Wetzel. Thirteen were county employees.

Perez said one of the project’s greatest challenges was determining how to honor 14 distinct lives while also fairly representing the relatives who agreed to participate.

“How do you represent each of those people and then each of the families who agreed to participate in the project with us?” Perez said. “How do we represent them fairly and how do we tell their story in the way that keeps their memories alive in the community?”

That responsibility also shaped how the team conducted interviews. Some participants appeared on camera, while others chose Zoom, telephone interviews or written statements. Alvarez narrated some written accounts for the film.

“We wanted to make sure everyone’s story was heard in the way that they wanted to tell it,” Alvarez said.

The filmmakers said they ultimately had relatives representing seven of the people killed participate, along with several survivors. Former San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon also traveled from Ohio to take part in an interview.

The team said it deliberately avoided asking victims’ relatives and survivors to relive the attack itself, focusing instead on the people they lost, the recovery that followed and what helped them continue moving forward.

The process took an emotional toll on the filmmakers as well.

“I don’t think that we were necessarily prepared for the emotional toll that it would take on us,” Alvarez said. “There were some days that were harder than others.”

Tay said working as a three-person team gave them a built-in support system after difficult interviews. He also said the project changed his understanding of what healing can look like even a decade later.

“I thought that 10 years should be enough time,” Tay said. “But it’s actually not. Like what Megan said, it’s a process, and we really respect that.”

Perez described healing as a journey, noting that participants were at different points in that process. She said the filmmakers were struck by the strength of survivors and current county employees who continued serving the community while carrying the effects of the attack.

The documentary also traces the creation of the Curtain of Courage memorial outside the San Bernardino County Government Center. Unveiled in 2022, the memorial consists of 14 bronze-colored alcoves shaped like protective curtains. Families selected the colored glass and personalized phrases incorporated into benches inside the alcoves.

Perez said preserving the meaning behind that memorial became another important purpose of the film, particularly as new employees and residents encounter it without necessarily knowing its history.

“People today that are hired by the county or that come to Government Center, walk by the memorial,” Perez said. “They don’t know why it’s there or what it represents.”

For Alvarez, the documentary’s central message ultimately extends beyond the tragedy itself.

“The documentary is a visual representation of hope and resilience,” she said.

The filmmakers said feedback from participating families has been positive, with relatives expressing appreciation that their loved ones’ stories were being preserved.

Perez said that responsibility remains at the heart of the project.

“We have to remember this,” she said. “We have to remember these people.”

You can watch the full documentary on YouTube, by searching: We Remember | December 2, 2015