Allen Outlet shooting: Plano restaurant owner mourns family killed
PLANO, Texas - Many North Texans are remembering the lives of those lost in this weekend's deadly mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets.
Lydia Miftari, the owner of Eddie's Diner in Plano, says that the Cho family were regulars at her restaurant.
"They came in pretty much every Saturday, sometimes Sunday as well. Just a sweet family and they were good people," she said.
The Cho's came to eat at Eddie's just hours before the shooting.
"My staff had sang happy birthday to William for his 6th birthday and that's the last we saw of them," said Miftari.
William is the only surviving member of the Cho's. His mother, Cindy, father, Kyu, and 3-year-old brother James were killed in the shooting.
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William was also shot, and was released from the hospital earlier this week. He is now under the care of his extended family.
"They were all about their kids. They were always coloring with them, reading with them, playing with them. There was never an activity where the kids were just kind of fending for themselves," Miftari recalled. "They were here as a unit and that was one of the reasons they really stood out to us."
Miftari says she will remember the Cho's as kind, sweet people.
"Cindy always had the biggest smile on her face, you could just tell they were a proud family. It was great to see in a world where we are so busy we kind of forget that is the most important thing," she said.
Miftari calls the family's death a "hard pill to swallow" and that they are heartbroken.
"I just hope that William always remembers that his parents loved him immensely, and that our family is still his family, and there is a lot of love out there still for him," she said.
A GoFundMe for the Cho family raised more than $1.8 million before being closed by family members.
They say they will open a trust for William in the coming days, and will release details about how people can contribute.
They also asked people to continue to donate to the funds for the families of the other victims in the shooting.
How to Help the Victims of the Allen Shooting
How to help Allen Premium Outlets shooting victims and their families
Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being donated for the Allen Premium Outlets mass shooting victims and their families.
A list of approved and verified fundraisers are available on the City of Allen website.
The city says The Allen, TX Shooting Victims' Fund guarantees that families of the victims and those wounded will receive 100% of the funds.
The Support for Allen Fund will give money to local nonprofit agencies that provide mental health grief and trauma support for victims, their families and first responders.