SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Karin Dalton was a devoted mother and she was protecting her children when she was shot and killed after a gunman opened fire last week inside a Greyhound bus in Northern California.
"She died protecting her children," said Amy Logue, Dalton's cousin. "There were multiple wounds, and it was all in the name of protection."
The Butte County Sheriff's Office on Friday identified Dalton, 43, of Seattle, as the victim killed in Wednesday's mass shooting on a bus in Oroville. She was among five people struck by gunfire, including her 11-year-old daughter who was recovering in a hospital Friday, Dalton's family said.
Asaahdi Elijah Coleman, a 21-year-old Sacramento man, allegedly opened fire on passengers of a Los Angeles-bound Greyhound bus as it stopped at an AM-PM store in Oroville, authorities said.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea on Thursday said two of four surviving victims remained hospitalized in critical condition: a 25-year-old pregnant woman, and a 32-year-old man who underwent surgery for multiple gunshot wounds. No updates were available regarding the status of the critically injured victims.
Sheriff's officials have said an 11-year-old girl was listed in stable condition at a hospital, and a 38-year-old man was expected to be released with minor injuries.
Logue said Dalton's daughter was struck by one bullet and grazed by two others during the shooting. The girl was listed in stable condition at the hospital and "healing," Logue said.
Dalton's 14-year-old son also was on the bus Wednesday with his mother and sister. Logue said he was not struck by gunfire, but he is distraught after witnessing the shooting and learning of the death of his mother. The family declined to provide the names of the children as they want to protect their privacy while they recover emotionally.
"It's an event that's going to stay with them for the rest of their lives," Logue told The Sacramento Bee.
She said Dalton's son wanted to thank those at the AM-PM store who offered him and his sister shelter immediately after the shooting. The children had been separated from their mother.
"They got him and his sister inside (the store) and took care of his sister, tended to her wounds until medics arrived," Logue said.
Deputies, police and other law enforcement officers took Coleman into custody at a nearby Walmart in Oroville, where he had fought with a man and stripped off his clothes, local law enforcement officials and prosecutors said during a Thursday morning news conference.
Honea said Coleman appeared to be acting erratically and "paranoid" while on the Greyhound bus, which he boarded in Redding. At one point he showed passengers a 9mm handgun he was carrying in a small bag, which he allegedly fired at passengers as the bus made its regular stop in Oroville.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Coleman was firing at specific targets or indiscriminately, Honea said. About 25 passengers were on the bus.
Dalton and her two children boarded the Greyhound bus Tuesday in Spokane, Washington. Greg Schroeder, her partner, said they were headed to New Mexico to visit her eldest son, before they would continue to Alabama and reunite there.
Dalton and her family were moving to Alabama, where the cost of living is more affordable than their home in Washington state. Plus, they had other relatives in Alabama.
"We've been talking about it for a couple of months," Schroeder said. "I like the South, the people are friendly. She was supposed to contact me when she got there."
He works as a long haul truck driver, and he was in South Dakota when he was informed of his wife's death. He was overwhelmed with emotion Friday and struggled discussing what happened.
Michael Hart, his partner's cousin, lives in Alabama, and Dalton's family had visited him there before deciding to move there. He said the family hadn't yet made arrangements on where they would live, but they were in contact with someone about renting a house.
"They were excited to come down. He was going to follow behind them and meet them here," Hart said about Dalton's partner. "They were both excited about this new adventure in their lives."
Dalton's family described her as a stay-at-home mom who was "very outgoing" person with a "spunky" personality. Her partner said she took a bus on their trip across the country because it was more affordable than booking a flight with two children.
Her family said Dalton had taken long bus trips before and she would routinely travel by bus from the Seattle area to visit family in the Southern California town of Gardena. Her 14-year-old son called the family within an hour of Wednesday's shooting. Her death wasn't confirmed for the family until 8 a.m. the following day.
"It was stressful, nobody slept," Logue said. "We're still in shock."
Family members met with Dalton's son in Northern California Thursday morning, before he was told about his mother's death. The family has remained in California, waiting for Dalton's daughter to be released from the hospital.
"It's still hard to believe," Hart said about the shooting. "It's just a senseless act of violence that's going to make it difficult for the family to have any closure."
Hart created a GoFundme online fundraiser for Dalton's family to help pay for funeral costs and medical care and trauma care for her children.
The family declined to discuss any further details about what they've learned about the shooting, fearing it could harm the ongoing investigation. They thanked authorities in Butte County for their work in the investigation, and they offered their gratitude to the community members who've offered their support.
Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey on Thursday said the exact charges Coleman will face are still being determined, but Ramsey referred to the incident as a "mass shooting."
Coleman remains in custody at the Butte County jail and was scheduled to make an initial court appearance Friday.
"The Butte County Sheriff's Office sends sincere condolences to the family of Karin, and everyone affected by the tragic events that took place Wednesday evening," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
