Two of the eight persons killed in a Texas mall shooting were identified as a 20-year-old security guard and an engineer who immigrated to the US from India.
According to local sources, Christian LaCour, of Farmersville, was on the job and Aishwarya Thatikonda, of McKinney, was shopping with a companion when they were both slain at the Allen Premium Outlets by gunman Mauricio Garcia.
Sandra Montgomery, LaCour’s grandmother, expressed her grief at the loss of her “beautiful grandson” while announcing his death.
When his family couldn’t reach him after Saturday’s massacre, they grew scared.
“Christian LaCour, the security guard who was killed in the shooting at Allen Texas,” Montgomery posted on Facebook. “He was such a lovely soul, 20 years old and full of dreams for the future.”
“I was so proud of him and so glad I got to see him two weeks ago.”
Kellie Smith, the mother of LaCour’s sister-in-law, said the whole family is devastated over the young man’s death, describing him as a “sweet young boy” who grew up into a “very sweet gentleman.”
“Words can not even begin to describe the devastation that our family feels,” Smith wrote. “Their will forever be a void.”
Meanwhile, a family official verified to WFAA that Thatikonda was also killed in the terrible shooting.
According to the station, she was an engineer who lived and worked in Texas while her family was in India.
According to the family representative, she was with a friend in the outlet mall when the bullets were fired. Her buddy was hurt, but she is now in stable condition at the hospital.
Her family planned to bring her body back to India, the representative said.
She was working in Dallas as a project engineer for more than two years before her tragic death, according to her LinkedIn profile.
In a statement about the shooting, the mall said, “We are horrified by the senseless tragedy at Allen Premium Outlets and are outraged by the violence that continues to plague our country.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and others affected by this heinous act. We are thankful for the Allen Police Officer’s heroic actions and for the support of all the first responders.”
A guy stepped out of a grey automobile dressed in black tactical gear and equipped with an AR-15-style weapon before starting fire on customers in Allen, roughly 25 minutes north of Dallas, according to shocking footage from the mall’s parking lot.
Six people were pronounced dead at the site of the shooting outside the mall.
According to Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd, nine other people were hospitalised, including two who died as a result of their injuries.
Garcia, 33, was slain by a police officer who was monitoring the neighbourhood.
Police searched a Dallas residence related to Garcia’s parents Saturday night after the slaughter, and they also searched a motel where the gunman had planned an extended stay, law-enforcement sources informed local station WFAA-TV.
According to the Washington Post, officials are examining if Garcia harboured extremist ideologies that may have contributed to the mass shooting. Garcia was discovered wearing a patch on his breast that implied white nationalist or neo-Nazi leanings.
An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the patch included the abbreviation “RWDS,” which stands for “Right Wing Death Squad.”
The person also stated that federal officials are looking into social media profiles that they believe Garcia used and that displayed an interest in white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideas.
An poignant tribute for the dead victims was held Sunday evening.