A gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho, on Saturday afternoon, killing three people and wounding seven others, some critically. The suspected shooter was found dead near the restaurant, though authorities had not yet confirmed whether he was included in the death toll. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said the attack took place around 2 p.m. local time and described the scene as "very chaotic." He added that police believed the threat to the community was over.
The restaurant, which had opened just one week earlier on 24 July as part of In-N-Out Burger's expansion into Idaho, sits in a busy shopping plaza with hundreds of people in the area at the time of the shooting. Witness Lane Koehn, 34, said he was stopped at a traffic light nearby when he saw a person carrying an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-through lane. A second man, armed with a pistol, opened fire on the shooter. Koehn then watched an In-N-Out employee drag a wounded colleague — bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest — across the parking lot to safety while they waited for paramedics. Video footage taken by a bystander from across the street showed a figure dressed in black approaching a white car with a long rifle and opening the trunk, prompting the person filming to flee in fear of a further escalation.
Eyewitnesses inside and outside the restaurant described scenes of panic. Nayeli Rodriguez, 40, said she was waiting for food with her daughters when she heard shots from the kitchen area. An employee told customers to get down before they eventually fled, helped by strangers who offered them shelter in their car. Haley Dodaro, 43, was in the drive-through when she saw workers running out and customers screaming. Multiple injured people were transported to St Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center, which said it was working closely with law enforcement. Authorities were still interviewing witnesses and working to determine the gunman's identity and motive, and officials said they were notifying victims' families before releasing further details.
Twin Falls is a city of roughly 56,000 people located about 205 kilometres southeast of Boise, Idaho's state capital, and approximately 120 kilometres north of the Nevada border. The shooting adds to a long series of mass casualty gun violence incidents in the United States. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo said he was "grateful for the swift response of Idaho's first responders." As of Saturday evening, no motive had been established and no additional suspects had been identified.