An armed healthcare worker and an off-duty Idaho state trooper returned fire during a mass shooting at a Twin Falls In-N-Out Burger that killed three people, and police say their actions almost certainly saved lives, even as investigators still cannot explain why the gunman attacked.
Chad Williams, 24, opened fire Saturday afternoon at the recently opened restaurant in a busy commercial district of Twin Falls, Idaho, killing three people and wounding seven others before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound near the scene. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks identified Williams on Sunday and said investigators were confident he acted alone, but had not yet determined what drove him to carry out the attack.
Among those who confronted Williams mid-rampage was Jordan Salinas, a 35-year-old healthcare worker from nearby Kimberly, Idaho, who serves as the full-time caregiver for his wheelchair-bound brother. Salinas was at the restaurant when the shooting began. He drew a suppressor-fitted FN Five-seveN semi-automatic pistol he carried strapped by the shoulder and fired back at Williams alongside an unnamed off-duty Idaho state trooper who also engaged the gunman.
Hicks credited both men with driving Williams away from the crowded restaurant and preventing a higher death toll.
"We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties."
Twin Falls County Sheriff Jack Johnson went further. Johnson called the two men "true heroes in our community" and said they "diverted the shooter and without a doubt saved many lives."
Salinas told the Idaho Statesman that when the shooting started, he was able to "observe," "orient," and "decide" that "OK, this is the guy" before choosing to "act." He said he felt "no fear." He only stood down when police arrived and took control of the scene, thinking, "OK, my part is done."
His girlfriend was at the restaurant and was caught in Williams' fire. Her identity and condition were not released.
Salinas said he took up firearms training after a shooting in 2021 and had never before aimed a gun at a living target, not even an animal. Late Sunday night, he posted a message on Facebook acknowledging the weight of what had happened:
"The last 24 hours have been overwhelming. I want to sincerely thank my family, friends, and everyone who has reached out with messages, prayers, and support. I haven't been able to respond to everyone yet, but please know I've seen your messages, and they mean more to me than I can put into words. In the coming days, I'll share a more complete account of what happened, to the best of my recollection, when I'm able. For now, my heart remains with the victims, their families, and everyone affected by yesterday's tragedy."
In a separate comment, Salinas offered a blunter assessment of the gunman's response to return fire: "He did not like it when bullets started firing both ways."
And he framed his decision to act in simple terms: "There's a task that needs to be done, and we're the ones who need to do it."
The In-N-Out Burger had opened just days earlier, on July 24, as part of the chain's expansion into Idaho. Hundreds of shoppers, diners, and employees were believed to have been in and around the restaurant when Williams emerged from the drive-thru area carrying what witness Lane Koehn, 34, described as an AR-style rifle.
Koehn, who was stopped at a traffic light near the restaurant, told The Associated Press he saw a man with a handgun begin firing at the rifle-wielding shooter. He later watched an In-N-Out employee drag a wounded co-worker across the parking lot. The injured worker had been shot in the chest.
"She was pretty bad off, but I don't know. I hope she made it."
Haley Dodaro, a Twin Falls resident, was waiting in the drive-thru with her mother when the gunfire started. She said she initially thought there might have been a fire. Then the reality set in.
"People were running out crying and screaming. It was very scary."
A person directing traffic warned Dodaro and her mother that an active shooter was on the scene.
Nayeli Rodriguez was inside the restaurant with her daughters when an employee told customers to get down after gunfire erupted near the kitchen. An older man tried to shield Rodriguez and her children before they escaped. Strangers in a car let them climb in and flee.
"We were trying to get as far as we could, and some angels let us in their car."
Three people died in the attack, including one In-N-Out employee who had been serving customers when she was killed. Seven others were wounded. By Sunday, two remained in critical condition, three were listed as stable, and two had been treated and released from a hospital.
Among the survivors was Terry Dudley, a driver for North Star Taxi, who was shot twice in the back while charging his Tesla near the restaurant. The taxi company said Dudley faced "a very long road ahead." Officials had not released the identities of the three people killed as they worked to notify families.
In-N-Out owner and president Lynsi Snyder confirmed one of the dead was a company employee and issued a statement Saturday evening. Snyder said the worker had been caring for customers when she was killed.
"My heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I've shed. We lost one of our beautiful associates tonight."
Snyder added that "In-N-Out will be mourning with the families and praying for them as they tread through a very painful season."
Chief Hicks described the scale of the response challenge in stark terms. He told reporters that "literally hundreds of people" were "in some way, shape or form in the area of this restaurant at the time," calling it "an exceptionally chaotic scene, on a Saturday afternoon here in Twin Falls, at one of the busiest locations in all of southern Idaho."
Hicks said Williams' family was cooperating with authorities. Detectives were examining Williams' activities before the shooting and working to determine whether any victims had been deliberately targeted. The FBI asked members of the public to submit photographs and video recorded during the attack. Twin Falls police urged anyone who witnessed the shooting or had relevant information to contact investigators.
Police also warned that social media posts naming another man as the suspect had circulated, an incorrect identification that underscored the confusion surrounding the attack in its early hours.
But on the central question, why Williams walked into a crowded fast-food restaurant on a Saturday afternoon and started shooting, authorities had nothing to offer. Hicks said only that detectives had not yet established a motive. He did confirm that police believed the threat to the community was over.
Jordan Salinas is not a police officer. He is not a soldier. He is a healthcare worker who spends his days caring for his brother. He trained with firearms because a shooting five years ago convinced him it was worth doing. On Saturday, in a parking lot full of screaming families and wounded strangers, he used that training.
The debate over armed citizens and self-defense will continue long after Twin Falls fades from the headlines. But the local police chief, the county sheriff, and the evidence on the ground all point to the same conclusion: two armed men who fired back at a gunman drove him away from hundreds of potential victims and forced the attack to end sooner than it otherwise would have.
When seconds counted, a man with a lawfully carried firearm and the will to act stood between a killer and a restaurant full of families. That fact speaks for itself.
