Father Says Homeless Man Saved Daughter And Her Friends During Sacramento Shooting

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Two days after the mass shooting in downtown Sacramento, a man says his daughter is alive today because a homeless man shielded her from the gunfire.

Tom Orosco was picking up his daughter and her three friends downtown just after 2 a.m. Sunday when he heard the gunfire and chaos.

"I was on the phone with them," he said. "I heard the shots out the window and the shots on my phone."

Then, the phone died.

"Immediately, I said, 'I got to find them, I got to find them,"' Orosco said.

He searched frantically as the horrific scene unfolded. What he didn't know was that all four young women -- whose identities he is protecting -- were huddled and pulled into a tight alcove by a homeless man named Tim.

"They ran down here and Tim was sleeping there," Orosco said. "My daughter had fallen and Tim helped her up, and [he] said, 'Come in here,' and brought them where it was safe. He literally stood up to protect them from anybody that came."

Tim (credit: Tom Orosco)

Orosco snapped a photo when the family came back days later to thank Tim.

"He was willing to put himself in the line of fire, no doubt," Orosco said.

Now, the family is trying to track him down again, offering a hand up for his heroic act.

"It's a reminder that there's good people out here," Orosco said. "And he's one of those good people."

The family plans to get Tim a phone and bring him food and supplies weekly. They tell us Tim is from Ohio and has been homeless for about eight months.

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