a brand new restaurant, open for exactly one week, became the scene of a mass shooting saturday afternoon in southern idaho leaving three people dead and seven others wounded before the gunman turned the weapon on himself.
How It Started
according to the twin falls police department, the twin falls in-n-out shooting timeline begins at approximately 2:29pm on saturday, august 1, when the city’s communications center began receiving 911 calls reporting shots fired near the restaurant. dispatchers told reporters they could hear screaming and gunshots in the background of the incoming calls.
the location the fourth in-n-out to open in idaho as part of the california-based chain’s regional expansion had opened just one week earlier, on july 24.
witnesses described chaos inside and outside the restaurant. lane koehn, 34, said he was stopped at a nearby traffic light when he saw a person carrying what appeared to be an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru area. inside, customers dove from their seats and some barricaded themselves in the restrooms as workers scrambled out the front door, spilling onto the sidewalk of a busy commercial street filled with hotels and national retailers.
The Victims
police chief matthew hicks confirmed sunday that three people died in the shooting, in addition to the gunman. in-n-out president lynsi snyder released a statement confirming that one of the three victims was a female employee of the restaurant, though she was not identified by name out of respect for the family. snyder said the employee was “taking care of our most important asset our customers” at the time she was killed.
seven additional people were wounded. as of sunday’s update, two remained in critical condition, three were listed as stable, and two had already been treated and released from st. luke’s magic valley medical center. hicks cautioned that these figures were preliminary and could change as the investigation continued.
authorities said they were still in the process of notifying next of kin before releasing further identifying details about the victims.
Who the Gunman Was
police identified the shooter sunday as 24-year-old chad williams. hicks said investigators are confident williams acted alone, and that his family has been cooperating with law enforcement. no motive for the shooting had been publicly identified as of the most recent update.
williams was found dead near the restaurant. police confirmed sunday that his death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Intervention That May Have Saved Lives
one of the more significant details to emerge from the twin falls in-n-out shooting timeline involves the response from an off-duty officer and a private citizen who happened to be in the area.
chief hicks credited both individuals with firing shots that diverted williams away from the restaurant. “we believe their actions drove the suspect from the scene, preventing further casualties,” hicks said. neither individual has been publicly named, and it remains unclear from official statements whether their shots struck williams directly or simply forced him to flee the immediate area.
The Video That Wasn’t What It Looked Like
as the shooting unfolded, a piece of social media video began circulating that appeared to show a different armed man standing outside the in-n-out, pointing a gun and firing footage that many online assumed depicted the shooter himself.
twin falls police lieutenant steven gassert confirmed directly to CNN that the man seen in that particular video was not the suspect in the shooting. the department issued a public statement asking people to “refrain from sharing information in an attempt to not share misinformation,” specifically noting that posts identifying the shooter as someone other than williams were inaccurate and unfounded.
the confusion illustrates a recurring pattern in how mass shooting information spreads online before official details are confirmed bystander footage, often showing real but unrelated armed individuals in the vicinity (in this case, likely connected to the intervention effort), getting misattributed as the primary suspect before law enforcement has a chance to clarify.
The Surrounding Response
the shopping plaza where the in-n-out is located sits in one of twin falls’ busiest commercial corridors, roughly 130 miles southeast of boise in a city of about 56,000 people. nearby businesses were directly affected chick-fil-a’s twin falls location closed for the remainder of saturday “out of an abundance of caution,” and the nearby magic valley mall was closed with people inside instructed to shelter in place during the active shooter response.
the fbi confirmed it was aware of the situation and offered assistance to local law enforcement. idaho governor brad little posted publicly asking for prayers “as law enforcement and first responders respond to an active shooter situation near in-n-out.”
Twin Falls In-N-Out Shooting Timeline Where Things Stand
three people are dead, including a restaurant employee. seven others were wounded, two critically. the gunman died by his own hand after being confronted by an off-duty officer and a bystander whose actions are credited with limiting further casualties. police say he acted alone, and a motive has not yet been released.
the restaurant that had been open for barely a week is now, like the community around it, left processing what happened there.
follow this blog for updates as police release additional details on the investigation.
