SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – It was a selfless leap to save her kids. Karin Dalton, 43, was killed in the Oroville Greyhound bus shooting, and died while protecting her kids. Her daughter, Alane Castillo, wants to shed light on her brave mom and the children she saved so everyone knows what a hero she was.
“We always had that very close relationship. I would call her Mama-bear and she would call me love-bug,” Castillo told CBS13. “When I got the news it was pretty hard to handle. It was overwhelming,”
READ MORE: Local Father-Son Duo Go Viral On TikTok Highlighting Reality Of Dementia
“Mama-Bear” proved to be a fitting name for Karin, jumping in front of her two children to take the bullets and save their lives.
Alane talked to the children, 14-year-old Liam and 11-year old Audrina, who’s still in the hospital.
“She seems fine right now but she’s young. It’s going to take some time for it to hit her. She’s not going to see mom, she’s going to start to wonder,” said Alane. “It’s hard to tell right now because I don’t think they’re grasping it or understanding how serious this is just yet.”
Alane said Audrina had two bullets graze her in her ear and then got shot in the butt but it came out.
Investigators say Karin covered them when the suspect — 21-year-old Asaahdi Coleman — opened fire on a Greyhound bus in Oroville that was bound for Los Angeles.
READ MORE: ‘Been Going On A Couple Months’: Unknown Stench Makes Its Way Through Knights Landing
“Her and Audrina were very close, detachable,” Alane said. “That just shows, in her last moments, she literally covered her with her life.”
Coleman is now accused of shooting five people. He refused to go to what was supposed to be his first court appearance Friday. The district attorney said he would not leave his cell.
Meanwhile, Karin’s family is just focusing on her, the hero who saved her children’s lives.
“But you know like the saying, heroes don’t wear capes. And definitely that alone, my Mom is a hero,” Karin’s son Nicholas Dalton said. “The reason my little sister is here is she protected her.”
Karin had actually quit working to stay home and take care of Liam, who has autism. Now, Liam and his 11-year-old sister are without their mother as their 20-year-old brother is now suddenly their father figure.
MORE NEWS: 73-Year-Old Batting Cage Owner Arrested For Child Sexual Assault Charges In Lodi
The family is taking donations online to help the children and pay for funeral costs.