The sister of one of the men killed in Saturday afternoon’s mass shooting at an In-N-Out Burger in southern Idaho has shared a heartfelt tribute to her brother.
Authorities say the suspected shooter, 24-year-old Chad Williams, killed three people and wounded seven more before taking his own life. During a press conference on Sunday, Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said the injured victims were still in critical condition.
Among those who died was Christopher Claunch, according to his sister, who spoke to The New York Times.
Kimberly Castaneda reflected on spending the Fourth of July with her brother and remembered his playful personality.
“My silly brother took my headband that I was wearing with little tin wheels on it, and he sat with those things on like it was just no big deal,” she told the Times, adding ‘he was always being a goofball’.
Castaneda said her brother had been eager to visit the restaurant after it opened on July 24 as Idaho’s fourth location, but had mentioned that he wanted to let the initial rush die down before going.
“You have no idea how surprised I was when I found out he was there,” she said.
Police have not publicly identified all the victims, but relatives of Terry Dudley, who survived the shooting, have also spoken about the ordeal.
Dudley, who works with North Star Taxi in Twin Falls, had been charging one of the company’s Teslas when the gunfire broke out, Idaho News 6 reported. His brother, Micheal Dudley, said he went straight to the hospital after hearing the news.
The outlet reported that doctors were monitoring Terry for a partially collapsed lung and blood in his diaphragm.
“We’re fairly certain he’s gonna make it out of there,” he told the outlet. “He says he’s not super social, but he’s pretty social. He seems to know everyone around him; well, everyone seems to know him.”
The family also said they wanted to address misinformation circulating online, including a false obituary for Terry.
“People need to stop, like, just believing whatever they see,” Micheal said of the obit which went around while Terry was in the hospital. “It’s s**t like that that’s kind of insane,” he added.
Terry’s friend Lindsay also voiced frustration about the impact of social media, saying it can ‘create so much more stress than needed’ for families already dealing with trauma.
In-N-Out CEO Lynsi Snyder confirmed that one employee was among those killed in the attack.
“We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight,” she penned on an Instagram post. “She was taking care of our most important asset – our Customers, and her life was taken by a disgusting human who doesn’t value the lives of others or his own,” she added.
Chief Hicks said investigators believe the gunman “acted alone”. However, two other armed individuals—an off-duty state trooper and an armed civilian—played a crucial role in stopping the attack. According to witness accounts, the armed civilian engaged the shooter with gunfire. Witness Lane Koehn, who was at a nearby stoplight, told NBC News he observed the situation unfold and believed the armed bystander’s actions kept the gunman from shooting at more people. The Police Chief said the actions of both responders helped drive the suspect from the scene “preventing further casualties.”