Officials identify three children among victims in Texas mall mass shooting

Officials identified three children among the eight victims who were shot and killed in the Texas mall mass shooting over the weekend.

The Texas Department of Public Safety released the identities of the Allen Premium Outlets shooting victims in an update to the investigation Monday. Officials said that an 8-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy were among the deceased victims of the shooting.

CBS News Texas reported that the two girls were sisters who attended Cheri Cox Elementary School. CBS News reported that the school district sent a letter to parents to describe the “heartbreaking situation.”

“Words cannot express the sadness we feel as we grieve the loss of our students. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mendoza family, the families of the victims, and all those affected by this senseless tragedy,” the letter reads, according to CBS News.

CBS News also reported that the girls’ mother was injured in the shooting and remains hospitalized.

Kyu Song Cho, 37, and Cindy Cho, 35, the parents of the 3-year-old victim, were also identified as victims in the shooting. According to a GoFundMe set up in the family’s honor, the couple’s 6-year-old son was injured in the shooting but ultimately survived after being released from the ICU.

“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 GoFundMe page reads. “Cindy, Kyu and three year old James were among those victims that tragically lost their lives and the family is in deep mourning. After being released from the ICU, their six year old son William is the only surviving member of this horrific event.”

The remaining victims that officials identified in the shooting were Christian LeCour, 23,
Elio Cumana-Rivas, 32, and Aishwarya Thatikonda, 26. LeCour’s family told CNN that he worked in the mall as a security guard, describing him as a “sweet, caring young man who was loved greatly by our family.”

The suspect in the shooting was shot and killed by a police officer who was responding to an unrelated incident at the mall when he heard gunshots. Officials identified the suspect as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, whose extremist social media posts are under review by investigators.