TRAGIC

Costco Shooting Victim Was Mentally Disabled ‘Gentle Giant,’ Cousin Says

The victim’s cousin identified the two critically wounded in the shooting as Kenneth French’s parents.

The man who was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer at a Southern California Costco was a “gentle giant,” according to his cousin, The Press-Enterprise reports. The victim, 32-year-old Kenneth French, was mentally disabled, his cousin Rick Shureih told the Press-Enterprise. Shureih also identified the shooting’s other two victims as French’s parents, Russell and Paola French, who were critically wounded. Shureih said the family is seeking an attorney and declined to provide specifics about his cousin’s mental condition. The officer’s identity has not been released. The incident took place after French allegedly attacked the Los Angeles Police Department officer without provocation at a Costco in Corona, California, near Los Angeles. The off-duty officer then shot and killed French. The LAPD is conducting an administrative investigation, and the Corona Police and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office are also conducting separate investigations.