Jordan Salinas, a 35-year-old healthcare worker, identified himself as one of the two people who fired toward the gunman, telling the Idaho Statesman that it was an “automatic” response.
Salinas said he was with his girlfriend stopping for lunch when the shooting erupted, prompting him to reach for his semi-automatic pistol.
The 35-year-old healthcare worker is from Kimberly, Idaho.
The suspect, Chad Williams, 24, who was later found dead close to the scene, allegedly opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in the city of Twin Falls, Idaho, on Saturday afternoon.
Salinas told the Idaho Statesman that he had been training to handle firearms following a 2021 shooting at the Boise Towne Square mall that killed two people, training at weekends in the desert outside Eden, a small town in eastern Jerome County, but had never pointed his gun at “so much as an animal” before Saturday.
He said gunmen went after “soft targets” and he worried about a situation where he and his wheelchair-bound brother, who he cares for full-time, could be targeted.
Salinas’ commitment to training had become visible on social media years before the shooting.
In a video from October 2024, Salinas trained with what appears to be a suppressed FN Five-seveN handgun, writing, “Train like your life depends on it. Because God forbid, one day it might. Stay free, stay safe and stay frosty.”
That post resurfaced across social platforms after the incident.
After pulling into the restaurant’s parking lot with his girlfriend on Saturday afternoon, he saw people fleeing through the doors, heard the sound of gunfire and ran toward it with his semiautomatic pistol drawn, and once he located the gunman standing by the drive-thru window and firing at cars, he fired his pistol.
“He said he followed a four-step approach he had practised for years – “observe, orient, decide, act” – to confront the attacker on Saturday.”
Salinas told the newspaper that he felt “no fear” as he ran toward gunfire, adding “There’s a task that needs to be done, and we’re the ones who need to do it.”
He said he ran towards the sound in an “automatic” and “mechanical” response, and he only remembers his girlfriend calling out his name before the shooting began again.
Williams seemed shocked, taking fire from Salinas and an off-duty policeman, a customer at In-N-Out, who returned fire too.
They returned fire, forcing Williams towards an open car park.
A man with a pistol then began firing at the shooter, Koehn said, and stayed at the scene to help a wounded In-N-Out employee until paramedics arrived.
“I could tell he was trying to figure out where to go, and somebody in the drive-thru line with a handgun was shooting at him,” witness Lane Koehn said, describing the shooter as “panicked,” looking around and moving “kind of erratically,” and believing the armed bystander kept the gunman from shooting at more people.
In the viral moment that would elevate Salinas to sudden prominence,
Williams opened fire at the In-N-Out Burger outlet in Twin Falls, killing at least three people, including an employee of the fast-food restaurant, and wounding around seven.
The In-N-Out had opened just about a week earlier, on July 24, as part of the California-based company’s recent expansion to Idaho.
Williams died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
An off-duty state trooper and a civilian returned gunfire during the attack, “heroic actions” police believe helped drive the gunman away from the scene and prevented additional deaths and injuries.
“These people are true heroes in our community, and their actions diverted the shooter and no doubt saved many lives,” Twin Falls County Sheriff Jack Johnson said.
On Facebook on Sunday, Salinas posted his first public reflection.
“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.”
Salinas said his part took two or three minutes, and as the gunman retreated and police officers arrived, he said he stood down and let them take over.
His sister Nikkii Tappero set up a GoFundMe shortly after.
“Jordan showed incredible courage by stepping in to help others during an unimaginable tragedy. In a moment of chaos, he chose to put others before himself, and his selflessness has inspired so many people,” Tappero wrote.