Texas mall shooting victims include elementary school-age sisters, young family

Those killed in the shooting at a mall near Dallas included two elementary school-aged sisters, a couple and their three-year-old son, a young engineer and a security guard. The victims are a multicultural section of the increasingly diverse suburbs.

Cox Elementary School students Daniela and Sofia Mendoza, in grades 4 and 2, were among those killed Saturday at Allen Premium Outlets, according to officials in the Wylie Independent School District. She was remembered as “the kindest and wisest student with a smile that could light up any room,” principal Krista Wilson said in a letter to parents.

Also killed in the outdoor shopping center were three members of a Korean American family: a couple and their three-year-old son. Another boy was injured and remains hospitalized, said Myoung-Joon Kim, chief of mission at the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Dallas. The parents were identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety as Kyu Song Cho, 37, and Cindy Cho, 35.

‘They want us to feel safe’

Andria Gaither, assistant manager at the mall’s Tommy Hilfiger store, said she was saddened to learn that one of the dead was Christian LaCour, a 20-year-old security guard who previously worked at the clothing store and often stopped by to chat. Gaither himself had to run for his life when shots rang out.

Just a few nights before, he had called LaCour when a customer wanted to come in after hours. He arrived and asked the man to leave, then assigned security guards to him and two teenage employees.

“They want us to feel safe,” Gaither said. “I was just surprised. He was so young, so sweet, coming all the time to visit us.”

‘Always ready to give your best’

Also killed Aishwarya Thatikonda, 26, who is from India, holds a bachelor’s degree in construction management and works as a civil engineer in the Dallas-area firm Perfect General Contracting.

They are “always ready to give their best,” company founder Srinivas Chaluvadi said in an email.

He said his parents live in Hyderabad, India, where his father is a judge.

“They came to the United States with the dream of making a career, raising a family, owning a house and living forever in Dallas,” Chaluvadi said.

She said Thatikonda will turn 27 next week and they have become like family: “He attends birthday parties at my house, we celebrate festivals together and have family dinners.”

‘Women have left a void’

The aunt of the Mendoza brothers said that their mother is still in the hospital and asked for prayers.

“Please pray for our broken family now. The girls have left a void in the world that nothing can fill. Please pray for their mother, sister, and their broken hearts,” Anabel Del Angel wrote in a fundraising post verified by GoFundMe. He also asked for prayers for the girls’ father.

Jena Blue, who lives across the street from the Mendoza family, had a garage sale and saw Ilda Mendoza walking to school.

“She looks like a mother like me,” said Blue.

For Halloween, he said, the Mendozas will have a screen playing movies while other neighbors will serve snacks and drinks.

“When you’re going around the right corner of the house, you’re going to get like a hot dog, treats and chips. And watch a movie,” Blue said.

Dallas police identified the eighth victim as 32-year-old Elio Cumana-Rivas.

Suspected gunman harbors ‘neo-Nazi ideas’

The suspected gunman, 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, had no prior criminal record but had “neo-Nazi ideas,” authorities said Tuesday.

They said the gunman researched when the mall in Allen was busy – Saturday afternoons – and posted a photo on social media in mid-April near the store where he finally started the attack, which ended with the police killing him.