On Saturday afternoon in Twin Falls, Idaho, a twenty-minute burst of violence would have been far more catastrophic if not for three ordinary people who made extraordinary decisions in the chaos. When gunman Chad Williams, 24, opened fire at a newly opened In-N-Out Burger just after 2:29 p.m., three heroes stepped into harm’s way to stop him, and surveillance video released Friday by police shows their pivotal moments in stunning detail.
The footage begins with Williams pulling up in a white Honda Civic to the drive-thru window, where he swiftly draws his handgun and fatally shoots In-N-Out employee Ashley Garibay, a 23-year-old from Stockton, California, who had come to Twin Falls to train staff at the newly opened location. Williams then creeps forward a few feet before emerging with his gun and walking toward the drive-thru’s second window, where he fatally shoots 59-year-old Christopher Claunch, a customer in another car.
That’s when former Twin Falls police officer and Idaho State Police trooper Austin “AJ” Scott runs toward the gunman, the surveillance video shows. Williams points his gun at Scott and opens fire, striking the ex-cop. A wounded Scott pulls out his own handgun while preparing to confront Williams in a different area of the parking lot, but due to his severe injury and blood loss, other people grab him and pull him toward one of the cars waiting in the drive-thru line.
Scott’s intervention, though brief and costly to himself, helps draw Williams’s attention. Inside the restaurant, an unidentified off-duty Idaho State Police trooper who had been waiting at the counter begins helping employees and customers evacuate while searching for the shooter. When Williams returns to the payment window with his gun, the trooper jumps over the counter and the two exchange gunfire through the window.
The heroic actions of these three men—Scott, the off-duty trooper, and Jordan Salinas, a 35-year-old healthcare worker from Kimberly who was also waiting in the drive-thru—combine to turn the tide. Williams fires another shot through the window, striking a good Samaritan attempting to help the trooper and render aid to a victim, but then his handgun jams. He retreats to his Honda Civic, retrieves a rifle from the trunk, and the confrontations continue.
Salinas, who had been eating lunch with his girlfriend when the shooting began, runs toward the gunfire in what he described as an “automatic” and “mechanical” response. Surveillance video shows him firing back at the gunman using his handgun, ducking for cover in the bushes as Williams seemingly fires back. In an interview, Salinas told media that he could see the gunman was “unusually comfortable aiming that rifle at those cars,” but “as soon as some rounds started coming at him, everything changed.” Salinas had trained in firearms handling following a 2021 mass shooting at a Boise mall that killed two people.
The gunman then flees the restaurant and opens fire on multiple vehicles stopped at a nearby red light, striking three victims. He moves to a Tesla charging station nearby, where he fires at vehicles and fatally shoots 66-year-old Dale Schultz of Salt Lake City, gravely wounding Schultz’s wife, Reinette. But Williams is confronted once again by an armed good samaritan, who fires back at him.
An officer’s bodycam footage later shows the moment police spot Williams on a nearby river bank. The gunman dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and falls into the canyon, according to police.
The three victims killed have been identified as Garibay, Claunch, and Schultz. Seven others were wounded in the attack, with two in critical condition and others in stable condition or released after treatment.
Authorities on Friday praised the civilians and former officer who intervened during the deadly rampage, crediting their actions with saving lives. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks declared the off-duty trooper and armed citizens acted heroically. “We believe their actions drove the suspect from the scene, preventing further casualties,” he said. Twin Falls County Sheriff Jack Johnson called the responders “true heroes in our community,” saying their actions “diverted the shooter and without a doubt saved many lives.”
Scott’s family released a statement saying he was “critically injured” and now faces “a long road of surgeries, recovery and rehab.” His wife, Connie, an emergency room nurse, helped pull him from the scene, apply pressure to his wound, and rushed him to the hospital for emergency surgery. Family and friends have established a fundraising account to help cover his medical expenses and recovery costs.
Salinas posted on Facebook thanking those who reached out with support. “For now, my heart remains with the victims, their families, and everyone affected by yesterday’s tragedy. Thank you for continuing to keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” he wrote, adding that he would share a more complete account of what happened when he was able.
The motive for the shooting remains unknown as authorities continue their investigation. The In-N-Out location had opened just one week before the attack, making it the chain’s fourth restaurant in Idaho and its 441st location overall.