BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — When Antonius Wiriadjaja met the man who helped save his life after a 2013 shooting, he was shocked to find the two had a deeper connection — matching scars from gunshot wounds.
A new documentary chronicling Wiriadjaja’s ordeal following the shooting and his reunion with good Samaritan John Morant captures the emotional moment when the two meet again, along with the lingering impact of gun violence.
The nine-minute short from social impact agency Purpose spotlights Wiriadjaja’s journey and the “randomness” of violence. Morant ended up losing his own life in a separate shooting, according to Purpose’s head of partnerships Erin Gore.
Wiriadjaja was left in a medically-induced coma after being hit in a July 5, 2013 shooting in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He detailed his recovery in a blog called “How I Survived a Gunshot to the Gut” and most recently in the film, “Looking for a Savior.”
“It was the worst feeling to wake up and realizing you were filled with holes,” he says in the documentary.
“Recovering from a gun shot wound isn’t just about getting better physically, it also is becoming more emotionally stable and also returning to a sort of routine.”
Purpose’s filmmakers and crew met Wiriadjaja through their work advocating for gun violence prevention with organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety, Gore said.
“It was through meeting him that we wanted to tell his story and help him, also help him heal," she said.
"Part of that was figuring out what happened to the person who helped him and retracing the steps he took that day.”
After he was shot, local barber Morant came to his aid, applying pressure on his wound.
“I was kind of delirious when I saw you because you were wearing a du-rag and you were wearing a white shirt, and I was like thinking, 'Man, is this an angel?'” Wiriadjaja tells Morant in the film.
“I’m not a saint. But you know it’s prayer, believe in the creator… Pressure and prayer,” Morant says during their exchange.
A month after the two reunited, Morant was killed in a South Carolina shooting.
“For us, this was to show that the victims of gun violence are real people. These are people’s sons and daughters, and more often than not it’s the innocent bystander,” Gore said.
The documentary also aims to serve as a call to action to let people know “there are ways to get involved,” she said.
“It was a horrible tragedy for both Antonius and John,” Gore said.
“It really highlighted just the randomness and expanse of gun violence in our country.”
