Costco Victim's Cousin: 'The Truth Will Come Out!'

Kenneth French had an intellectual disability, his cousin says
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 17, 2019 2:45 PM CDT

The Costco shooting victim was a mentally disabled "gentle giant" unlikely to intimidate anyone, his cousin insists. "I'm not keeping quiet about this! People need to know! This is my family!" writes Rick Shureih on Facebook after Kenneth French, 32, was shot dead Friday at a Costco outlet in Southern California, per the Deseret Sun. Corona police say French assaulted an off-duty LAPD officer who was holding his child, and the officer responded by firing several shots, killing French and injuring his parents, Paola and Russell. But Shureih responded by posting a photo of the three of them and asking, "Do they look intimidating to you? Did he really have to shoot them all? ... The truth will come out!"

A neighbor of the Frenches tells the Press-Enterprise she was unaware of Kenneth's disability until she saw it on the news. "They have been here four or five years," she said. "There was never an incident like that." The exact nature of Kenneth's disability is unclear, but Shureih said he had to be "pretty much monitored" and stayed with his parents. Meanwhile, the officer involved is with his family for support but isn't on leave, and Kenneth's parents remain in intensive care, per the LA Times. Authorities are looking over video from shopper cellphones and Costco cameras as they investigate, per ABC News. Media reports describe the Costco scene as chaotic, with shoppers abandoning bags and surging for the exits as shots rang out. (More shooting stories.)

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