'Our hearts are broken': Allen victim who protected son during chaos had Houston roots

One of the eight victims of the Allen Premium Outlets mass shooting had connections to the Houston area, per a report from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) ABC affiliate WFAA that was run by sister station Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.

Cindy and Kyu Cho and the couple’s toddler son, James, perished in the May 6 incident at the North Texas shopping center, leaving behind another young son who was hospitalized in the aftermath.

WFAA reported that Cindy was an alumna of the Cy-Fair Independent School District’s (C-FISD) Cy-Falls High School.

The station reported that she worked as a dentist while her spouse was an immigration attorney.

Cindy reportedly shielded oldest child, William, during the shooting, making it possible for the little boy to survive.

According to WFAA, State Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) knew the late mother’s father, who serves at a Korean church in Houston. 

"It is with great sorrow that I have learned that three of the victims of the mass shooting in Allen had ties to Houston," Whitmire said on Twitter, the station reported. "A young Dallas couple Kyu and Cindy Cho and their 3-year-old son James were killed in that senseless mass shooting.” 

Whitmire, a candidate for Houston mayor, shared a GoFundMe page to help William.

ABC News reported the couple’s surviving relatives said the boy is “recovering well.”

"Our hearts are broken for our beloved family members who are no longer with us," the family said in a prepared statement that was obtained by the national media outlet. "All of our attention is now focused on ensuring William leads a happy, healthy life with his extended family who love him dearly."

Per the report, a daycare teacher who taught James remembered him as “sweet and smart.”

“He was a brilliant child,” Trinity Whitley said in the report. “I've never actually met a 3-year-old that was that smart.”