6-year-old boy is lone survivor of family in Texas mass shooting
We're learning more about some of those who are lost in the Texas Outlet Mall Massacre. This is the Cho family, mom, Cindy and dad, Q, and three-year-old James. They were all killed. Only six-year-old William survived and is recovering in the hospital. This family had just celebrated William's sixth birthday a few days before, and they were all going to the mall to exchange some presents. A GoFundMe for William Cho has already raised more than a million dollars. We're also learning more about the shooter who targeted and killed them and his white supremacist beliefs.
Reporter Melissa Adon has the story. Authorities are investigating the Texas mall shooting which left eight dead and seven others wounded as possible domestic terrorism. The suspect identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia. Investigators taking a look at a social media profile appearing to belong to Garcia, rife with neo-Nazi ideology, racism and hatred towards women. A series of photos uploaded to the account in April 2023 seem to indicate the gunman may have visited the outlet mall as far back as May 2022 and again in January of this year. The Army says Garcia was removed after only three months of service in 2008 over mental health concerns. On Monday, Texas DPS releasing the names of the adult victims including 37-year-old Kee Sang Cho and 35-year-old Cindy Cho, 26-year-old Aishwarya Tattikanda, an engineer, 20-year-old Christian LeCore.
His sister tells ABC he was an on-duty security guard and 32-year-old Aleo Kumana Rivas. Among the victims are also children, a three-year-old boy and two sisters, eight-year-old Sophia Mendoza and 11-year-old Daniela Mendoza. Their elementary school principals saying the girls were rays of sunshine. Those who live to tell their survival stories say they search for safety where they could or like Israel Hill who ran into a restaurant and heard minutes of gunfire along with the sound of children crying and yelling for help. At this point he says he's just feeling survivors guilt especially because there were children who died. Rick Howley took this video from a bathroom closet with about a dozen other people telling ABC's Matt Gutman. She's now haunted by what happened.
You actually heard the screams of the victims. I can't get them out my hand. An attorney for the Allen police officer who shot and killed the gunman released a statement in part saying the officer sprinted towards high-power rifle fire as others ran away, calling him a brave servant. In Allen, Texas, Melissa Adon, ABC News. Hello, I'm Mark Brown. Get more great ABC7 content by clicking the subscribe button for our YouTube channel and download the ABC7 Los Angeles streaming app on Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku to watch on your TV.
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