Allen Texas mall shooting: Aishwarya Thatikonda, an Indian engineer, among victims
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
A vigil was held for the victims of the shooting on 7 May
By Bernd Debusmann Jr & Max Matza
BBC News
An engineer from India, a young family and two primary school-age sisters are among the eight people who died in a mass shooting at a shopping mall near Dallas, Texas, on Saturday.
Seven people were injured, some with multiple gunshot wounds, and remain in hospital.
The crime is still being investigated as more information becomes known about the people who died at the Allen Premium Outlets mall.
Here's what we know so far.
Aishwarya Thatikonda
Aishwarya Thatikonda, an Indian engineer who lived in the Dallas suburb of McKinney, was among those killed, according to a family representative.
She was less than a week away from celebrating her 28th birthday.
Image source, CBS
Thatikonda was at the Allen mall with a friend when the shooting took place. Her friend was wounded in the shooting.
Her family is now planning to repatriate her remains to India with the help of the Telugu Association of North America.
Thatikonda's LinkedIn profile shows that she graduated with an undergraduate degree in civil engineering in India in 2018, before receiving a master's degree in construction management from Eastern Michigan University in the US in 2020.
For the last two years, she was working for a Dallas-based contracting firm on a US work visa.
The Cho family
Image source, GoFundMe
Two parents and their child were killed in the shooting, say officials from the South Korean consulate in Houston, the Dallas Morning News reported.
The parents were named as Cho Kyu Song, 37 and Kang Shin Young, 35. Officials added that they are American citizens of Korean descent.
Their son James Cho, 3, was the youngest victim of the attack.
The six-year-old was injured and has been released from the hospital intensive care unit. He is the only surviving member of the family.
A verified GoFundMe page - now topping $1m (£792,000)-says that they were at the mall to exchange clothing that their six-year-old son had received as a birthday gift only four days prior.
"An afternoon that should have been filled with light, love and celebration unfortunately was cut short by another mass shooting massacre," friends of the family wrote on a fundraiser page.
Mr Cho worked as an immigration lawyer at a nearby law firm, according to the New York Times. He was learning to speak Spanish, because he was increasingly representing Spanish-speaking immigrants in court.
"As an immigrant himself, Kyu has a deep pride, respect, and appreciation for the American Dream," says a profile for Mr Cho on the firm's website.
Two sisters
Daniela Mendoza, 11, and her sister Sofia, 8, were killed in the attack, according to officials from their school district.
Their mother, Ida Mendoza, remains in critical condition in hospital.
The principal of their primary school, Cheri Cox Elementary School, described the girls as "rays of sunshine" in an email sent to the school community on Monday.
"Words cannot express the sadness we feel as we grieve the loss of our students," principal Krista Wilson wrote to parents.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mendoza family, the families of the victims, and all those affected by this senseless tragedy."
Christian LaCour, 20
Another victims of the attack was Christian LaCour, a 20-year-old security guard.
His sister, Brianna Smith, told ABC News that he was on-duty at the mall when the shooting took place.
Image source, Facebook
Image caption,
Christian LaCour was reportedly on duty at the mall when the shooting took place
"He was a really sweet kid," Ms Smith told ABC. "I'm sad he's gone."
On Facebook, LaCour's grandmother, Sandra Montgomery, described him as a "beautiful soul" with "goals for his future".
"Please pray for my family," she wrote. "They are very close and I know this is almost unbearable."
Elio Cumana-Rivas, 32
The eight victim was identified by Texas authorities on Monday night as Elio Cumana-Rivas.
He was from Dallas, Texas.
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