Oroville Bus Shooting: Victim Shot Eight Times Deals With Paralysis, High Medical Bills

OROVILLE (CBS13) — Almost three months after an Oroville bus shooting left a mother dead and four others hurt, we're hearing from one of the victims who was shot eight times and is now paralyzed from the waist down.

Robert Farber, 32, took eight bullets but said he's now facing a much bigger battle: his medical bills.

For Farber, everything has changed. He's learning to navigate life from a wheelchair after the bullets pierced his spine, legs, lungs and back. He still needs physical therapy, and more surgery is likely on the way.

Farber says the medical bills are piling up and plunging him hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt.

"They're throwing ridiculous numbers around. Let's just say that," he said.

Farber was on his way to Arizona for a fresh start and a new job as an electrician's apprentice, but his trip included a seat across the aisle from accused Greyhound bus shooter Ashadi Coleman.

"I just heard boom. He's doing something with a gun. He looks at me, shrugs his shoulders and starts shooting again," Farber said.

He said he saw Karin Dalton, 4, shield her children from the gunfire. The mother of four died at the scene. It was Farber who pulled two of her children toward the exit as the bullets flew.

"I just reacted. It just happened," he said.

Farber said he's not sure if his paralysis is permanent, but he is prepared to fight.

"I believe I'll walk again," he said. "Maybe not the same, but I'll walk again."

While he is raising money online to put a dent in his medical bills, he fears that's a battle he may not win.

"I could work my whole life and not pay that off," he said.

The accused gunman will be back in court in May. A judge has ordered a psychologist to determine if he is competent to stand trial.

There is a GoFundMe in place to help Farber with his medical bills.