STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — The last few days for 61-year-old Randy Corrigan's family have been some of the toughest.
RELATED: 1 dead after shooting at Strongsville Costco; alleged shooter charged with murder
Corrigan's niece, Holly, described him as the best uncle anyone could have asked for.
"He was great. He was always there. He was very fun, loving; he's sarcastic as hell. He always had a good comeback for everything. There was a lot of banter that went back and forth," Holly said. "Very funny, very selfless. He would give everything, you know, anything that we wanted, whether we could afford it or not. He would do his best to make it happen."
Holly has more good memories with Corrigan than she can count, but two keep playing on repeat in her head.
The first memory is of Corrigan taking her to Knott's Berry Farm in California as a young girl.
"I feel like I don't remember very many things as a child, but that's like a core memory for me, being there with my older brother, and just him (Corrigan) and his daughter," Holly said.
The other memory, which is more recent, is a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to celebrate Holly's birthday.
"He just made it so amazing, you know, he would wake up early in the morning, and he loved to make us crepes for breakfast and, you know, sausage and gravy and biscuits. He loved to cook," Holly said.
She said he would regularly treat his mother to a random cake and loved handing out sweet treats to just about anyone.
Holly lives out of state, so she said she'd only see her uncle a few times a year.
Holly told me he moved back to Ohio to become the sole caretaker of his 86-year-old mother, who will now likely be moved to a facility.
"Sometimes I think like, I'm OK, we can do this, and then sometimes I can't stop crying. It's harder knowing that I have to keep it together, more so for my grandmother. She's 86 years old. I feel like she's on the brink, you know, that fine line between dementia and kind of Alzheimer's leading that way. Every few minutes, she has to ask to remind herself, like, 'So Randy isn't coming home tonight?' Or, 'Can you tell me again what happened? Where's Randy?' That breaks my heart," Holly said.
Corrigan also leaves behind his six-month-old great-nephew, whom he never got to meet in person.
"We talk several times a week. He would get to work at Costco early and call us and FaceTime us just to chat and catch up, see how we're doing. I have a six-month-old son that he called all the time just to say hi. It breaks my heart they're never gonna meet in person," Holly said.
She told me the family planned an international trip for next month. Corrigan was supposed to meet his great-nephew then.
Holly said this last weekend has been difficult to grapple with, describing it as a "rollercoaster of emotions."
A GoFundMe has been created to assist with funeral expenses and help set Corrigan's mother up in a facility.
As of Sunday night, it has already raised close to $30,000.
CLICK HERE for more information.
"That has been amazing. I didn't expect it to be like this," Holly said.
As the truth is sought after, Holly said her family needs all the support they can get, and she's extremely grateful.
She said she knows, while Corrigan is no longer here, that he felt in his heart how much his family loved him.
"He'll be greatly, tremendously missed. I know he knows in his heart how much we cared for him and what he meant to us," Holly said.
The suspect
According to Strongsville Police, the suspect, 22-year-old Christian M. Bryant, of Fort Worth, Texas, has been charged with murder, an unclassified felony.
Bryant had an arraignment in Berea Municipal Court on Monday morning. He's being held in jail in lieu of a $5 million bond.
During the arraignment, Bryant said, "This man approached me with a knife."
The allegation that Corrigan wielded a knife was also mentioned as hearsay in a 911 call.
However, the police report notes a gun being recovered from the scene. There is no mention of a knife.
"My uncle would never start something like that. He would never come at somebody with a knife. He was at work," Holly said. "I know that the police department. they have been all over it, and I'm sure I believe that they're doing their due diligence and doing the full investigation. I know the more that is said, the more people that are interviewed, the more they'll know to figure out the truth to what happened, so we can, you know, get justice."
Bryant's case will be bound over to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for consideration by a grand jury.
The Strongsville Police Department is asking those who were present during the shooting and did not speak with an officer to please email your contact information to detective.bureau@strongsville.org.
The scene
News 5 crews were at the scene and reported seeing several police vehicles outside the building, which was taped off, and evidence markers near the entrance.
News 5 reached out to Costco for a statement and has yet to receive a response.
Shoppers react
News 5 visited Costco on Sunday morning to check in with shoppers.
"Scary times," Peggy Woznuk said. "I could have been there. I don't know what's going on, but people have to kind of change their ways, and there's just too much hatred. We need more love."
Heidi Tsakalos said her heart aches for the Costco employees and wonders how they're holding up.
"I can't imagine an incident like this happening here in Strongsville. I guess it's happening everywhere now, so it's getting closer and closer to home. It’s concerning," she said.
