TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A shooter who killed three people and wounded seven others was distracted from his violent attack when an armed civilian and an off-duty state trooper began shooting at him, witnesses told NBC News.
The Aug. 1 incident unfolded when Chad Williams, 24, opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger. Lane Koehn, who witnessed part of the incident while at a stoplight near the restaurant, told NBC that a bystander and officer who began to shoot at the suspect distracted him from shooting more people.
| RELATED: Choose the right real-time policing model for your agency
Koehn described the shooter as “panicked,” as he moved around the outside of the restaurant.
“The shooter was solely focused on him, and [it] allowed us to get out,” Koehn told NBC. “I mean, the car directly ahead of me was getting shot — it gave them time to leave.”
Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks confirmed that the bystander and off-duty helped to stop the shooter.
“We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties,” Hicks said. “We want to take a moment and commend the actions of the off-duty officer and the citizen, and their heroic action to stop this incident.”
Hicks did not identify the bystander or off-duty trooper who shot at the shooter. But local sources confirmed to the Idaho Statesman that the armed bystander was Jordan Salinas.
Salinas told the Statesman that he began firearm training following a 2021 shooting at a Boise Mall that killed two. He began training weekly in shooting and tactical responses.
When he and his girlfriend approached the In-N-Out, Salinas heard gunshots and ran toward them “automatically,” he told the Statesman. Salinas was armed with an FN Five-Seven and began shooting at the gunman.
“He did not like it when bullets started firing both ways,” Salinas recalled.
The Twin Falls Police Department stated that an officer-involved shooting occurred when on-duty officers arrived at the scene. The gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, NBC reported.
