Boy, 6, Lost His Entire Family in Texas Mall Shooting

The eight victims in Saturday's mall shooting in Allen, Texas, included two young sisters as well as another young child who was killed alongside his parents, leaving his older brother orphaned. While authorities have not publicly identified all of the victims yet, relatives, friends, and organizations with which they were involved have come forward to mourn those who were killed, according to the Dallas Morning News, the Guardian, CBS News, and the BBC:

• Daniela and Sofia Mendoza: The sisters, ages 11 and 8, were in fourth grade and second grade at a Dallas-area elementary school. "Words cannot express the sadness we feel as we grieve the loss of our students," says the principal in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mendoza family, the families of the victims and all those affected by this senseless tragedy." The girls' mother was wounded in the shooting and is in critical condition.
• Cho Kyu Song, Kang Shin Young, and their son James: Three of the four members of a Korean-American family were killed, including a 3-year-old boy. His brother, who had just celebrated his 6th birthday, was injured but survived and has since been released from the ICU.

• Christian LaCour: The 20-year-old was a security guard at the outlet mall where the shooting took place. Family members were remembering him as a "beautiful soul" and a "sweet caring young man" on social media. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Christian LaCour, our security professional who was tragically killed while protecting the customers and employees of the Allen Premium Outlets," the security company says.
• Aishwarya Thatikonda: The 26-year-old was a project engineer from India, and her body will be sent back to her family there. Her boss, whom she had worked with since 2020, describes their special bond: "She’s staying away from her parents, 11,000 miles away, so she found a fatherly figure in me and I found a daughter-like personality in her."
• Elio Cumana-Rivas: No information has yet been released about the 32-year-old.

The shooter may have held neo-Nazi beliefs. (More Texas mass shooting stories.)