The Internet Raises Over One Million Dollars For The Sole Survivor Of A Korean-American Family In The Texas Mall Shooting

The internet has come together to support a six-year-old Korean-American boy, William Cho, after a heinous tragedy took his family away on May 6.

On May 6, Saturday, a mass shooting at a Texas mall claimed multiple lives. So far, eight victims have been reported to pass away. Among those eight, three victims are Kyo Song Cho (37) and Cindy Cho (35), and their three-year-old son James. The family is survived by William alone now, who was admitted to the intensive care unit with a gunshot wound.

According to the GoFundMe page created for the family, the Chos were visiting the Allen Premium Outlets mall just days after William turned six years old when a shooter, clad in black body armor, open-fired inside the mall with a semi-automatic rifle. The shooting only stopped after a police officer, who happened to be present at the mall, shot and killed the gunman.

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. After being released from the ICU, their six year old son William is the only surviving member of this horrific event.

—The GoFundMe page created for the Cho family

William was wounded and sent to a nearby hospital, where he had to be admitted to the ICU. According to a fundraiser page created by a user named “L T,” William was released from the ICU afterward. At the time of writing this article, the fundraiser has already gathered USD 1.2 million dollars from hundreds of donors.

The gunman responsible for this tragedy has been identified as as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia. The police are looking into his history, including anything that suggests extremist views. According to The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, his social media posts indicate that he was “obsessed with violence” and subscribed to misogynistic, antisemitic, and white supremacist worldviews.

He was reportedly armed with multiple weapons, including an assault rifle, and wore tactical gear, carrying items that suggested interest in far-right and racist ideologies. However, it is still unclear if he chose his victims, including the Korean-American Cho family, because of their race.

Korean netizens are angered and upset over this unfortunate incident and praying for William’s recovery.

• “Ah, this is making me tear up. ㅠㅠㅠ Poor child.”
• “This is seriously heartbreaking…May the deceased rest in peace.”
• “It’s hitting me even harder because he is similar to my child in age ㅠㅠ. I hope he recovers well.”
• “What a pity for the victims…I feel so bad for the baby.”
• “I really hope there’s a hell for these [mass shooters].”

If you’d like to contribute to the fundraiser for the Cho family, here is the GoFundMe page.

We send our heartfelt condolences to the victims and their loved ones.