In an effort to help a 26-year-old Baltimore woman whose mother was shot to death outside Howard County Circuit Courthouse last week, an attorney sought yesterday to establish a fund to pay for medical, funeral and personal expenses.

Police say Tuse S. Liu, 49, of Columbia is accused of shooting his estranged wife, So Shan Chan, 52, and her daughter Wing Sau Wu of Baltimore in the courthouse parking lot minutes after a divorce ruling. Chan was pronounced dead an hour later at Howard County General Hospital.

Wu was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where her condition was upgraded yesterday from serious to fair.

Joseph F. Gaffigan, an attorney who represented Chan, contacted NationsBank yesterday to set up a fund for Chan and Wu's family, saying he wants to do his part to help.

"I did it because I care," said Gaffigan, who witnessed the shooting. "While I can't undo what happened last Thursday, I can do something about what happens today and tomorrow."

Pub Date: 3/16/99