“Went to the Mall to Exchange the Clothes of a Six-year-old...” The Sad Story of a Korean Family That Died in the Texas Shooting

People mourn in a memorial space set up in front of the Allen outlet mall in Texas where eight people died in a mass shooting. Getty Images / AFP-Yonhap News

The shopping mall that a Korean family visited to exchange the birthday gift of the six-year-old son ended up as their final destination. The mother, who was shot, held and protected her six-year-old son, now the sole survivor in his family.

The story of the Korean family that died in the shooting by a right-wing extremist at a shopping mall in the outskirts of Dallas, Texas on May 7 (local time) has the local community grieving.

On May 8, on GoFundMe, a fundraising platform, a page was opened to collect donations to help the family of Cho Kyu-song (38) and Kang Shin-young (36), who died in the shooting. The person who opened the page wrote, “On Saturday, Cindy (Kang), Kyu (Cho), William and James Cho visited the Allen outlet mall together.” The page went on to explain how William had celebrated his sixth birthday four days prior to the shooting and explained that the family went to the mall to exchange some clothes William received as a birthday gift.

“An afternoon that should have been filled with light, love and celebration unfortunately was cut short by another mass shooting massacre that left eight 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,” conveyed the page. The only survivor, William, was released from the ICU, but is reportedly suffering from a significant psychological shock.

Cho, an attorney, and Kang, a dentist, were second-generation Korean Americans who moved to the States with their parents when they were young. They both established successful careers and had a good reputation, actively volunteering in the local Korean church.

The website of the law firm where Cho worked, introduced Cho as a man who “was born in South Korea and raised in Dallas, Texas. As an immigrant himself, Kyu has a deep pride, respect, and appreciation for the American Dream.”

Eight victims died in the latest shooting, among which three were minors--James, the youngest son of Cho and Kang, and two sisters who attended a nearby elementary school.

The White House repeatedly urged Congress to quickly pass gun regulations following the shooting in the Texas shopping mall. In a press briefing Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “Today is... the 128th day of 2023. And yesterday, according to leading accounts, we witnessed the 201st mass shooting in this country this year.” She further mentioned that more than 14,000 people died from gun violence this year, describing the situation as “a crisis.” She argued that the Republicans in Congress were refusing to address the crisis and said, “We are talking about the number-one killer of kids in America, and Republicans in Congress are saying there is nothing that we can do about it.”