El Paso filmmaker plans documentary to honor Walmart shooting victims

EL PASO, Texas -- While most Americans view thanksgiving as a day to reunite with family over food and tradition, for 22 El Paso families it became the first major holiday without their loved ones. The families of the fallen from the Aug. 3 mass shooting at the Cielo Vista Walmart were remembering those they lost to a heinous act of terrorism.

For Tito Anchondo, Thanksgiving became a chance to announce his plans to honor his late brother Andre and his sister-in-law Jordan Anchondo. They were both killed in the Aug. 3 shooting protecting their baby Paul Gilbert Anchondo.

"We've been making connections with all these families and people that were affected just the stories that we've been hearing that haven't been told in the media that need to be told in the right way," Anchondo said.

Tito Anchondo has been working closely with the families of the 22 victims to tell their stories. He said it's important his film "Triumph: Unidos en la Fuerza" be told through the eyes of an El Pasoan for the nation to see. Anchondo tells ABC-7 that the motivation behind the film is the countless stories that have yet to be told.

"We have the families that are on board that are telling their stories its just an amazing project that is building and building into something very beautiful," Anchondo said.

The Anchondo family lost two of their own on Aug. 3, their baby boy though was saved. Baby Paul Gilbert Anchondo was saved by a stranger who has still not been identified by police. Tito Anchondo and his family want to use the documentary as a way to say thank you to this stranger, they want to know what was going through his mind when he saved the baby.

"Why did he do it? What was going through his mind? There is a possibility that if the baby was not saved that it possibly would have died, its really important for us to meet this person to thank him," Anchondo said.

Lastly, Tito Anchondo says he wants to use this documentary as a memorial to his brother and his sister in law, and he wants to help Paul Gilbert remember his late father and mother.

"If he ever needs to think about his dad he can just watch this movie and understand that his dad was a great man a great father and he would have loved him if he were still alive," Anchondo said.

"Triumph: Unidos en Fuerza" will be released in 2020, however no specific date has been announced.