Relatives Speak Out Days After 4 Kids Lose Both Parents In Separate Tragedies
SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA.com) — Relatives of four children who lost both their parents in less than two weeks say they're stunned and remain focused on helping the kids cope.
The children, two boys and two girls, range in age from 1 to 14 years old.
Their mother, Annalisa Santana, died July 6 in an ice cave accident in Washington, while their father, Adrian Cardona, was killed in a shooting at a San Bernardino bar.
Security video showed the final moments of Cardona's life as the father, who has five kids, was seen walking into Lulu's Hideout Sunday night. He was later shot and killed.
"It was like loud. And then, I ran and shut the side door," said Lulu Coen, the bar owner who heard the gun go off.
Cardona's death followed the passing of the mother of four of his five children.
"For the babies to lose their parents both like that, I felt so sorry for them," Coen said.
Cardona's brother and cousin remain stunned, but say they're focused on helping the children cope.
"Constant communication with them is important," Carlos Cardona, the victim's brother, said. "Letting them know that they are loved, that they are wanted, and that they have family to support them."
Police are still searching for the person responsible in Cardona's shooting.
Coen says she thinks the shooting happened just in front of a tire shop near her bar, but none of the security cameras are pointed in that direction.
A motive for the fatal shooting is unknown.
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