Texas mall shooting: Indian engineer among victims

Victims represent a multicultural cross-section of the Dallas area

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  Brooklyn Deese, left, hugs Alexa Keith outside Allen Premium Outlets in Texas, where a mass shooting happened on May 6. AFP

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  Sam Morin, 17, right, and Briason Foley, 15, hold protest signs at a prayer vigil after the shooting. AP

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  People call for action during a vigil at the Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church in Allen. AFP

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  Sara Tabatabaie wipes away a tear at a memorial outside the mall. AP

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  Nine crosses placed at the entrance to the mall to remember those who died. EPA

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  A girl runs as other shoppers leave with their hands up during the shooting. Reuters

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  Police and ambulance crews at the scene. AFP

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  People are evacuated from the mall. AP

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  Police officers use drones at the scene of the shooting, in which eight people were killed. AFP

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  Allen is a town about 40km north of central Dallas. AFP

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  People exit the mall after being locked in at the True Religion store for 90 minutes during the shooting. AFP

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  Allen Fire Marshall Jonathan Boyd (L) and Police Chief Brian Harvey speak to the press at the scene. AFP

The people killed by a gunman at a mall near Dallas at the weekend include a young engineer from India, two primary school-age sisters, a couple and their three-year-old son, and a security guard.

The victims represent a multicultural cross-section of the metropolitan area's increasingly diverse suburbs.

Aishwarya Thatikonda, 26, held a graduate degree in construction management and worked as a civil engineer at the Dallas-area firm Perfect General Contractors.

She was “always prepared to give her very best”, company founder Srinivas Chaluvadi told the Associated Press.

He said Ms Thatikonda's parents live in Hyderabad, southern India, where her father is a judge.

“She came to the United States with a dream to make a career, build a family, own a home and live forever in Dallas,” Mr Chaluvadi said.

Mr Chaluvadi said Ms Thatikonda would have turned 27 next week and she had become like a family member to him.

“She attended birthday parties at my home, we celebrated festivals together and we had family dinners,” he said.

Cox Elementary School pupils Daniela and Sofia Mendoza, who were in grades four and two, were also among those killed on Saturday at Allen Premium Outlets, officials at Wylie Independent School District said.

They were remembered as “the kindest, most thoughtful students with smiles that could light up any room”, head teacher Krista Wilson said in a letter to parents.

Also killed at the outdoor shopping centre were three members of a Korean American family: a couple and their three-year-old son.

Another son was wounded and was still in hospital, said Kim Myoung-Joon, head of mission at the South Korean consulate in Dallas.

The parents were identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety as Kyu Song Cho, 37, and Cindy Cho, 35.

Andria Gaither, assistant manager at the mall's Tommy Hilfiger store, said she was devastated to learn the day after running for her life that one of the dead was Christian LaCour, a 20-year-old security guard who previously worked at the clothing store and often stopped in to chat.

Just a few nights earlier, she had called Mr LaCour when a customer wanted to come in after hours. He came and asked the man to leave, and then offered a security escort to her and two teenage employees.

“He wanted us to feel safe,” Ms Gaither said.

“I’m just in shock,” she added. “He was very young, very sweet, came in all the time to visit with us.”

The memorial set up near the scene of a mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas. Getty / AFP

An aunt of the Mendoza sisters said their mother was still in hospital and asked for prayers.

“Please pray for our now broken family. The girls have left a void that nothing in the world could ever fill. Please pray for their mum, my sister and her broken heart,” wrote Anabel Del Angel in a fundraising post verified by GoFundMe. She also asked for prayers for the girls' father.

Jena Blue, who lives down the street from the Mendoza family, has been to their garage sales and seen Ilda Mendoza walk her two daughters to school.

“She just seemed like a mom just like me,” Ms Blue said.

For Halloween, she said the Mendozas would have a screen playing movies while another neighbour next door would serve snacks and drinks.

“Whenever you would round the corner right by their house, you’d get like a hot dog, a treat and chips. And watch a movie,” Ms Blue said.

Officials identified the eighth victim as Elio Cumana-Rivas, 32.

Authorities are still trying to piece together what led to the attack, which ended when the suspected gunman — 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia — was fatally shot by police.

Federal officials are looking into whether Garcia expressed an interest in white supremacist ideology, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.

The official said the investigation is in its early stages.

Federal agents have been reviewing social media accounts they believe Garcia used, as well as posts that expressed interest in white supremacist and neo-Nazi views, said the official.