Armed citizen drew his pistol and engaged the Idaho In-N-Out gunman. Witnesses say he saved dozens of lives.
A gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho on Saturday afternoon, killing two people including an employee who was serving customers at the time.
An armed citizen who happened to be in the area drew a pistol and shot back, with witnesses saying his actions were the reason many people got out alive.
The In-N-Out had been open for exactly one week.
How the tragedy unfolded
The attack began inside the restaurant at around 2pm local time before the gunman moved outside, where he was filmed by several witnesses.
Lane Koehn, who captured footage from his car, told KPTV he spotted the gunman carrying an AR-style rifle in the drive-thru area before watching a man with a pistol step forward and engage him.
The exchange of gunfire gave customers and staff the critical seconds they needed to flee. Workers in uniform were seen sprinting from the building as shots rang out across the parking lot.
Koehn also witnessed a woman in an In-N-Out uniform bleeding heavily from her chest being dragged across the parking lot by a colleague. He and the armed citizen stayed with her until paramedics arrived.
“She was pretty bad off, but I don’t know. I hope she made it,” he said.
Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks confirmed the threat to the community was over and that shelter-in-place orders had been lifted.
At least five people were injured in addition to the two who died. The identity and motive of the gunman have not been released and the investigation is ongoing.
In-N-Out employee one of the victims
In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder confirmed that one of the company’s own employees was among those killed.
“We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight,” Snyder wrote.
“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.”
READ MORE:
- Haunting new details emerge from Idaho murders as roommates’ texts are released
- Major update in case of death row inmate set for historic execution
