OROVILLE, Calif. — As gunfire erupted on a Greyhound bus in Oroville Wednesday injuring four and killing one, travelers on the southbound bus ducked for cover and in some cases, attempted to call loved ones scattered across the nation.
For one woman, who was allegedly hit by bullets from the 21-year-old suspect's gun, no call had to be made because the harrowing incident happened while she was already on the phone.
According to family members, Rose Whitley boarded the Greyhound bus in Washington, bound for her new hometown of Las Vegas where her children and much of her family live now.
Brian Whitley was on Facetime with his ex-wife, Rose, when the gunshots rang out.
Moments before the shooting, his ex-wife advised that a man on the bus was on a phone call asking someone to "bring a lot of people and a lot of weapons" to the bus's planned stop in Sacramento. That man was later identified by police as the shooting suspect 21-year-old Asaahdi Coleman of Sacramento.
"I said if anything breaks out, you know lay down between something, get as low as you can to the floor," Brian said. "A few minutes go by, I hear the gunshots, I hear the bullets hitting the glass, I hear everybody screaming."
Brian began frantically asking questions to see if Rose was okay as she hunkered down in the bus and prepared her escape to the Oroville gas station where the bus had parked for a rest stop.
"It was definitely terrifying. I ended up having an anxiety attack, I couldn't breathe," Brian said.
When the shooting stopped, Rose got out of the bus and ran into the nearby gas station. She then held up her phone once again to find Brian still on the line.
"She shows me her face," Brian said. "She just was in so much fear, she didn't realize she had been shot three times."
Rose, who Brian said is pregnant, and four others were taken to area hospitals where one of the victims, 43-year-old Karin Dalton of Seattle, was pronounced dead.
Rose was shot in the leg and waist while one bullet grazed her face, Brian said.
She has been moved out of the ICU and is looking towards a recovery with hopes of returning back home to her family and children soon.
"My mom and I had FaceTimed Rose and my youngest daughter kissed her mommy's 'owie' and it made Rose smile," Brian said. "She wishes she was out here in Vegas because everybody that she loves and cares for her is out here to help take care of her."
