Woman killed in Oroville bus shooting was a single mom traveling with her children
The woman who was fatally shot aboard a Greyhound bus this week in Oroville during a melee that left four other people injured was identified Friday as a single mother from Seattle who was traveling with her children.
Karin Dalton, 43, was killed Wednesday night when a man who had been acting erratically opened fire as passengers exited the bus at a rest stop in Oroville, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. Asaahdi Elijah Coleman, 21, was arrested that night in connection with the shooting.
Dalton was traveling from Seattle to start a new life in New Mexico with her children, a 14-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter, said Butte County Dist. Atty. Michael Ramsey.
Her daughter suffered two gunshot wounds to the face but is expected to survive and should be released from the hospital by Saturday, Ramsey said. Dalton’s son was not injured.
Once Dalton’s daughter is released, the children will stay with family in Washington, the district attorney said.
A man has been arrested in the Oroville shooting, which left a woman dead and four injured.
Coleman was scheduled for arraignment Friday afternoon but refused to exit his jail cell, Ramsey said. A judge declined to order deputies to extract Coleman from his cell and rescheduled his court appearance for Wednesday morning.
He faces one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder, court records show. Each count carries a special enhancement for using a weapon and causing great bodily injury. He also faces two enhancements for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
Coleman faces 148 years to life in prison if convicted as charged, Ramsey said.
Under a California youth offender law, however, he would be eligible for a parole hearing after serving 25 years in prison.
The shooting occurred around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday as the bus made a scheduled rest stop at a gas station and convenience store at Oroville Dam and Feather River boulevards, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities on Thursday revealed details that shed further light on what led to the shooting.
Coleman boarded the Los Angeles-bound bus in Redding, went to the back and sat down, Sheriff Kory Honea said.
The bus stopped in Chico, where Coleman either made or received a phone call “that seemed to agitate him,” Honea said.
“He was exhibiting what I think could best be described as paranoid behavior,” the sheriff said. “There was some indication that he thought one of the passengers was an undercover law enforcement officer.”
At some point, Coleman started talking to passengers about how dangerous Los Angeles was and showed some passengers a 9-millimeter handgun he had in a bag, Honea said. He opened fire as passengers were beginning to exit in Oroville.
After arriving on scene, deputies responded to tips that Coleman was inside a nearby Walmart, the sheriff said. They found the suspect naked and acting erratically inside the store and arrested him “without further incident.”
In addition to Dalton and her daughter, Coleman is suspected of shooting a pregnant 25-year-old woman, a 32-year-old man and a 38-year-old man, authorities said.
The 38-year-old suffered a minor injury and is expected to be released from the hospital, Honea said. The pregnant woman and 32-year-old were listed in critical condition.
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