ALLEN, Texas — Roberto Antonio Rivas sat inside Zwilling at the Allen Premium Outlets, just feet away from where his older brother died on May 6, 2023.
His brother was 32-year-old Elio Cumana-Rivas, one of the eight victims shot and killed at the mall.
Elio was at the Allen Premium Outlets that Saturday looking for a birthday gift for his 6-year-old daughter when a gunman shot him twice outside of Zwilling.
Just four hours before the mass shooting happened, Roberto arrived in the United States to seek asylum and join his brother.
Translated from Spanish, he said, "My brother was actually waiting for me."
Elio was living in Texas for eight months before he was killed. He had applied for asylum and was fleeing violence in Venezuela. Elio was sending money back to his family in Caracas to support them.
Roberto was following in Elio's footsteps. His first call when he arrived in the United States should have been his brother, but instead, he got the call saying Elio was dead.
"A friend of my brother, who was with him here at the mall, is the one who called me when I was leaving immigration," he said.
Roberto knew his life would change on May 6 when he entered the country, but this isn't the way he imagined.
"My brother was a hard worker. He came to the United States looking for a dream. He was very charismatic and he was open person, so well-liked," said Roberto.
Since the shooting, he's been in contact with the employees at Zwilling. He asked them to see video of what happened to Elio.
"I didn't believe that my brother was gone," Roberto said. "I wanted to see it with my own eyes. And now I regret having seen it because now it is stuck in my mind. The last moments of my brother dying is going to be with me forever."
With political unrest in Venezuela, Roberto and his family are struggling to get Elio's remains home. He is asking for help.
"The important thing is, right now, to bring back the ashes of my brother to Venezuela and to bury him. This has to be done, and that will help us a lot, give closure," he said.
Roberto's story coming to the United States was supposed to be with Elio, but it's nothing like he had hoped and dreamed.