Korean-American couple and son, 3, identified as among 8 slain in Texas mall massacre

May 9, 2023

A Korean-American couple, their 3-year-old son — and two young sisters out shopping with their mom — were among those killed in Saturday’s Texas mall massacre.

The Korean Consulate in Dallas confirmed that Cho Kyu Song, 37, Kang Shin Young, 35 and their youngest boy, James, were fatally shot by gunman Mauricio Garcia, 33, at the Allen Premium Outlets, The Dallas Morning News reported Monday.

The couple’s other son, William, 6, was among the injured and is being treated at an area hospital, the consulate added. The now-orphaned boy — who celebrated his sixth birthday just last week — was released from the hospital after spending time in the ICU, according to a GoFundMe page organized to help support their family.

“An afternoon that should have been filled with light, love and celebration unfortunately was cut short by another mass shooting massacre that left 8 victims dead,” the fundraiser said.

“After being released from the ICU, their six year old son William is the only surviving member of this horrific event.”

Officials also confirmed that young sisters Daniela and Sofia Mendoza were killed in the bloodbath, while their mother was critically wounded.

Daniela was a fourth-grader at Cox Elementary School in Sachse, and her little sister was a second-grader at the school.

The girls, who school officials described as “rays of sunshine,” were shopping with their mother, Ilda, when slain, a local CBS affiliate reported.

“Words cannot express the sadness we feel as we grieve the loss of our students,” their school district said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mendoza family, the families of the victims, and all those affected by this senseless tragedy.”

Five of the eight victims shot and killed at the Allen Premium Outlets have been identified. — Some of the victims shot and killed at the Allen Premium Outlets have yet to be identified.

News of the latest victims surfaced along with more details about tragic Aishwarya Thatikonda of McKinney, who was shopping at the outlet with a friend when she gunned down.

Thatikonda was an engineer living and working in Texas while her family — including her father, a judge — is in India, according to WFAA and the Guardian.

Kin got frantic when Thatikonda didn’t answer their phone calls Saturday and learned of her murder after TANA, an Indian-American nonprofit that connects victims of violence in the US to their families back in India, finally confirmed her death, the Guardian said.

Cho Kyu Song, 37, Kang Shin Young, 35 and their youngest child, James, were victims of the shooting at Allen Premium Outlets in Texas.

Ashoka Kolla, a volunteer for the organization, told The Guardian about the heart-wrenching back-and-forth he had with Texas officials for more than half an hour trying to confirm that one of the victims was in fact Thatikonda, because of the damage to her body from the gunfire.

What to know about the Texas outlet mall shooting

What happened?

Eight people were killed and seven wounded by Mauricio Garcia, a gunman dressed in black tactical gear who got out of his car at a Texas mall and opened fire in the parking lot — before being shot dead himself by a police officer at the scene, officials said.

The deadly mass shooting unfolded on May 6 at the Allen Premium Outlets — about 30 minutes north of Dallas — when the gunman got out of a vehicle and began firing, according to police and footage from the parking lot.

Who is Mauricio Garcia?

The gunman who killed eight people and injured seven others before being shot dead by police at a Texas outlet mall has been identified as Mauricio Garcia, 33.

A look into Garcia’s past revealed:

He served in the Army in 2008 but was eventually “removed due to mental health concerns,” law enforcement sources told local ABC 30.
Garcia had undergone several firearms proficiency courses in 2015 and 2018 as part of his security guard work
Investigators began probing whether Garcia held neo-Nazi views after police found a patch on his chest with the acronym “RWDS,” which stands for “Right Wing Death Squad”
Garcia also appeared to be casing his target for weeks. He shared more than two dozen photos of the outlets on extremist forums in the weeks leading up to his mass shooting, seemingly determining what would be the most packed time at the mall to unleash the greatest carnage, NBC said.
The mass shooter alluded to his declining mental health, too. One of his final posts lamented that no psychologist would be able to fix him and his fears of what his family might say about him.

Who are the victims?

Six victims of the shooter were found dead at the scene, while nine others were transported to area hospitals for treatment, two of which later died from their wounds, Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said.

The first of the victims who were publicly identified was Christian LaCour, 20, a security guard at the mall who was working when Garcia shot him.

The Korean Consulate in Dallas confirmed that Cho Kyu Song, 37, Kang Shin Young, 35 and their youngest boy, James, were also fatally shot, The Dallas Morning News reported Monday.

Officials also confirmed that young sisters Daniela and Sofia Mendoza were killed in the bloodbath, while their mother was critically wounded.

Kolla said he tried to have them identify her by the scar over one of her eyes and the fact that she wore a single earring, as per her Hindu tradition, but the officer replied that it was still difficult to tell.

“They’re horrible, the faces?” Kolla asked.

Aishwarya Thatikonda, was shopping when she was killed. — Aishwarya Thatikonda was shopping when she was killed.

The corporal he was speaking to nodded, “Yeah.”

Thatikonda was eventually identified through fingerprints.

The friend who Thatikonda was shopping with was among the injured. She is in stable condition.

Kolla noted that while he was the local medical examiner’s office, he came across several family members of the Korean-American victims who identified the bodies of the couple and their son.

Slain victim Christian LaCour, 20, was a security guard at the Allen Premium Outlets.

The first of the shooting victims who were publicly identified was Christian LaCour, 20, a security guard at the mall who was working a shift when Garcia shot him.

Sandra Montgomery, LaCour’s grandmother, mourned the loss of her “beautiful grandson” while confirming he was among the fatalities.

Gunman Mauricio Garcia, 33, was shot and killed during the massacre on Saturday afternoon. — Gunman Mauricio Garcia, 33, was shot and killed during the massacre Saturday.

The young man’s family members also became terrified when they couldn’t reach him after Saturday’s bloodbath.

“Christian LaCour, was the security guard killed in the shooting at Allen Texas,” Montgomery wrote on Facebook. “He was such a beautiful soul, 20 years old with goals for his future.

Members of the community gathered on Sunday to mourn those killed in the latest mass shooting. — Members of the community gather Sunday to mourn those killed in the latest mass shooting.

“I was so proud of him and so glad I got to see him two weeks ago.”

Meanwhile, one of the survivors of the massacre was identified Monday as Irvin Walker II, 46, of Lafayette, La., who was dropping off a friend at the mall at the time of the shooting.

The vigil for the victims included protests calling for gun reform.

His parents told KLFY 10 that Walker, a business development account manager for Equifax, had plans to stop by a park before Garcia opened fire at his car, striking him twice in the chest and once in his right shoulder.

Walker has since undergone surgery to remove the bullet fragments from his body and was reported in stable condition.

The wounded victims remain in the hospital, with three listed in critical condition and four in fair condition, the Allen Police Department said.