By the time Jordan Salinas understood what was happening outside an Idaho In-N-Out, his hand was already going to the pistol he carried in a shoulder holster.
The 35-year-old had spent years practicing for the kind of attack unfolding in front of him Saturday afternoon, after a deadly 2021 shooting at the Boise Towne Square Mall made him think differently about public violence and the people most vulnerable to it.
Salinas works in healthcare and is a full-time caregiver for his disabled brother. He told the Idaho Statesman that the mall shooting, which left two people dead and four others injured, made him realize gunmen often look for “soft targets,” including people like his wheelchair-bound brother and the aide who stays with him.
So he trained. Weekends were for shooting practice. The desert became his training ground. Until Saturday, he had never pointed his gun at a person.
That changed during what was supposed to be a horseback riding date with his girlfriend.
Salinas pulled into the In-N-Out parking lot as panic broke loose. Police said Chad Williams, 24, was armed with an AR-style rifle and opened fire around 2:30 p.m.
People were running for their lives, and Salinas quickly realized the chaos was coming from a gunman.
🎇Honor America’s 250th Anniversary!!!🎇 Get your 2026 Heritage Foundation commemorative membership card ➡️➡️➡️ ACTIVATE YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
He reached for his FN Five Seven, a semi-automatic pistol with a suppressor, and moved toward the danger.
Salinas told the Idaho Statesman the reaction felt “automatic” and “mechanical.”
When asked why he ran toward the gunfire, Salinas framed it as a job that had fallen to him in the moment.
“There’s a task that needs to be done, and we’re the ones who need to do it,” he said.
His response was later caught in viral footage from Twin Falls, where he could be seen aiming at Williams as the shooting unfolded. Police said an unnamed off-duty trooper also fired at the gunman.
Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks praised both armed responders during a Sunday press conference, saying they helped stop the attack from getting worse.
“We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties,” he remarked.
Lane Koehn, 34, was stopped at a nearby traffic light when he saw the attack unfold from the road, according to the Associated Press.
Koehn saw a man with an AR-style rifle come out of the drive-thru before another man armed with a pistol fired back. He told the AP the pistol-wielding man fired at least three or four rounds.
An In-N-Out worker was bleeding from her chest as a coworker pulled her across the pavement, according to the AP. Koehn, the coworker and the armed man stayed beside her until medics arrived.
“She was pretty bad off, but I don’t know. I hope she made it,” he stated.
Williams died at the scene. Jerome Police Chief Duane Rubink told CNN it appeared the shooter had taken his own life.
Investigators had not released a motive, and Hicks said it remained unclear whether anyone at the restaurant had been singled out.
One of the people killed was an In-N-Out employee, company President Lynsi Snyder confirmed, according to NBC News.
🚨 WOW! An absolute PATRIOT put his LIFE on the line and engaged the shooter at a Twin Falls, ID drive-thru
THIS is America 🇺🇸
This man exited his car and returned fire to force an active shooter to retreat, undoubtably saving COUNTLESS lives
A TRUE HERO pic.twitter.com/F1v4vrK1Um
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 2, 2026
Snyder wrote that the worker had been taking care of customers when “her life was taken by a disgusting human who doesn’t value the lives of others or his own.”
She called the employee “one of our beautiful Associates.”
“My heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed,” Snyder added.
The Associated Press reported, citing city spokesman Josh Palmer, that some of the wounded were in critical condition.
Authorities later said two injured victims had been released from the hospital. Of the others still hospitalized, three were stable and two remained in critical condition.
Hicks later offered one piece of reassurance to the community.
“We believe the threat to the community is over.”
The investigation has pulled in the FBI alongside local law enforcement partners.
FBI Salt Lake City Special Agent in Charge Robert Boles said the bureau had committed “the full weight of our resources” to the Twin Falls Police Department, including investigative and intelligence tools.
FBI evidence response teams and victim services specialists were also on the ground to support the investigation and those affected by the attack.
