Wylie ISD has extra counselors available at Cox Elementary School Tuesday as a result of the shooting at Allen Premium Outlets this weekend. Two of the eight people who died were students.
Daniela Mendoza, a fourth-grader, and Sofia Mendoza, a second-grader, were sisters. Their mother was injured and is now in the hospital.
"Words cannot express the sadness we feel as we grieve the loss of our students. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mendoza family, the families of the victims, and all those affected by this senseless tragedy," the district wrote.
Wylie ISD avoided making a school-wide announcement Monday to give parents a chance to talk about what happened with their kids.
People have been leaving balloons, flowers and stuffed animals around the sign outside Cox Elementary.
The mother of one student says she went for a walk to get her mind off the shooting.
"You just tell them to be kind to everybody because it's hard to understand that people are so mean in this world," she said outside the school.
"It's just sad in general," the father of another student said. "I don't know what things are coming to anymore to be honest with you."
Wylie ISD has been urging parents looking for a way to talk about the case to get information from the non-profits, Coalition to Support Grieving Students and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
The aunt of the children who were killed set up a GoFundMe page to help the family pay for services and medical bills for their mother who was injured.
"Please pray for our now broken family. The girls have left a void that nothing in the world could ever fill. Please pray for their mom, my sister, and her broken heart. Please also pray for their dad, that despite all the trauma he has had to endure, is still unbelievably strong. They will be forever missed and loved," Anabel Del Angel wrote on the GoFundMe entry.
She set a goal of $20,000. Tuesday morning, the fundraiser had brought in $112,000; by midday Tuesday, that had increased to $133,000.
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