BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A shooting at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in southern Idaho on Saturday afternoon resulted in three fatalities and seven injuries, with some victims in critical condition, according to a Twin Falls city spokesman.
Responding officers discovered the suspected gunman’s body near the restaurant, said Josh Palmer, the city’s public information officer. It remains unclear if the suspect’s death is included in the total fatalities.
Authorities are in the process of notifying the victims’ families and have yet to disclose the identities or details of those involved in the shooting, Palmer added. Some victims were critically injured.
Police are still investigating the shooter’s identity and motive, as stated by Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks during a news conference earlier on Saturday.
“We believe the threat to the community is over,” Hicks assured. “It was a very chaotic scene.”
Palmer noted that investigators are still gathering witness statements. The incident took place around 2 p.m. in a bustling shopping plaza with hundreds of people nearby at the time.
Lane Koehn, 34, witnessed the shooting while stopped at a traffic light near the In-N-Out. He saw an individual with an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru, followed by another person with a pistol who began firing at the shooter.
Koehn also observed an In-N-Out employee dragging a fellow uniformed worker, who had been shot in the chest, across the parking lot. Koehn, the employee, and the man with the pistol remained with the injured person until paramedics arrived.
“She was pretty bad off, but I don’t know. I hope she made it,” Koehn commented.
He mentioned that police instructed him to evacuate as the situation was still active. Koehn estimated that the shooter fired three or four rounds and said it was uncertain if specific individuals were targeted.
A video from a witness across the street captured the shooter, dressed in black, approaching a white car with a long rifle, opening the driver-side door, and accessing the trunk. The videographer left hastily, fearing the shooter might retrieve additional weapons.
Haley Dodaro, a 43-year-old resident of Twin Falls, was at the In-N-Out drive-thru with her mother when they noticed people fleeing and workers exiting the restaurant. Initially thinking it was a fire, they were informed by a traffic director that there was a shooter.
“So that’s when we knew there was a shooting. People were running out crying and screaming. It was very scary,” Dodaro recounted in a text message to The Associated Press.
Nayeli Rodriguez, 40, from Burley, was inside the restaurant with her daughters when gunshots rang out from the kitchen. An employee alerted patrons to get down, and an older man attempted to shield Rodriguez and her daughters as they exited the building.
“We were trying to get as far as we could and some angels let us in their car,” Rodriguez shared via text message, noting she left her car in the parking lot.
The In-N-Out location had opened just a week prior, on July 24, as part of the company’s expansion into Idaho.
Several victims were transported to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center. Hospital spokesperson Taylor Marschner stated that they are “working closely with law enforcement and emergency responders as they manage the situation.”
Twin Falls, a city with a population of approximately 56,000, is situated about 130 miles southeast of Boise and 75 miles north of the Nevada border.
Bellisle reported from Seattle, and Raza from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
