On the recordMay 9, 2023
Last Saturday started out as a beautiful day, and families with kids just like mine headed to the Allen Premium Outlets. It is a place that every north Texan knows. It is where we go to get good deals and to get a new outfit for school or for work. Now some of those folks are never going to come home. Eight people were murdered, and dozens of lives were changed forever. As a Texan, I want to say their names here so that they will live on in our Congressional Record for as long as our Republic stands. The Cho family: Cho Kyu Song, his wife Kang Shin Young, and their 3- year-old son James--just 3 years old. They are survived by their 6-year-old son, William, who is a child who lost his entire world in one afternoon. Along with the Cho family, we also lost Christian LaCour, a security guard who died saving others and showing incredible bravery. Christian was just 20 years old. We lost Aishwarya Thatikonda who was an engineer and who moved to the U.S. from India just 5 years ago and was full of high hopes. As well we lost Elio Cumana-Rivas who was working hard to send money home to his mother and father in Venezuela. Finally, we lost Daniela and Sofia Mendoza. Daniela was in fourth grade. Sofia was in second grade. Their mother Hilda is in critical condition. A high school classmate of mine emailed me yesterday, Mr. Speaker, to tell me that one of our classmates had a son who attended their elementary school. My district lies just south of the mall in Allen.…
