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On Saturday, May 6, a lone gunman, identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, shot and killed eight people and injured seven others at a shopping mall in Allen, Texas, before being shot dead by police officers. A fundraiser for the Cho family, the victims of the Texas mall shooting, has raised more than a million within hours after officials positively identified all eight people killed.
On Monday, May 8, officials said that the three members of the Cho family from Plano, Texas, were among the eight victims killed in the mass shooting. Authorities revealed that their oldest son, six-year-old William Cho, was the sole survivor of the heinous incident.
As per multiple outlets, William Cho was at the mall with his 35-year-old mother Cindy Cho, 37-year-old father Kyu Cho, and three-year-old younger brother James Cho, when all three members of his family were gunned down at the scene.
William, who was also injured in the incident, remains hospitalized after being released from the ICU.
GoFundMe created to render financial aid to the slain Cho family and their only survivor
In the wake of the announcement, a GoFundMe page was launched for the Cho Family and the sole surviving son William has raised more than $1,025,000, surpassing its goal of 50,000 within hours after the page was created.
As per NBC News, the Cho family fundraiser was created to render financial aid for the family and their only survivor, who was saved after his mother, Cindy Cho, reportedly tried to shield him from the onslaught of gunfire.
The fundraiser said that Willian Cho had just celebrated his sixth birthday four days before visiting the mall with his family on Saturday when the gunman opened fire at shoppers at the scene. The page stated:
“On Saturday, May 6th, Cindy, Kyu, William and James Cho visited the Allen outlet mall together in North Texas. William just celebrated his 6th birthday 4 days prior and James is 3. 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. Cindy, Kyu and three-year-old James were among those victims that tragically lost their lives and the family is in deep mourning.”
Officials identify other five victims of the mass shooting
Officials said two Cox Elementary School students identified as 11-year-old fourth-grader Daniela Mendoza and eight-year-old second-grader Sofia Mendoza also died in the shooting. The girls' mother, Ilda, who was injured during the incident, reportedly remains in critical condition.
The other three people killed in the shooting have been identified as 26-year-old Aishwarya Thatikonda, of McKinney, 32-year-old Elio Cumana-Rivas, of Dallas, and 20-year-old Christian LaCour, who worked as a security guard at the mall.
On Monday, hundreds of people gathered outside the mall entrance and adorned the place with flowers, stuffed animals, and other items as they mourned the deaths of innocent lives.
