A chaotic shooting at an Idaho In-N-Out left multiple people dead and injured, and new accounts suggest a privately armed civilian confronted the shooter in the parking lot as police worked to secure the scene.
Law enforcement responded to an active shooter incident in a busy commercial area of Twin Falls, Idaho, after gunfire erupted near the restaurant on Saturday afternoon. Police confirmed the shooter was dead and that shelter-in-place orders were lifted once officers assessed the scene and moved families and bystanders to safety.
“We believe that the threat to the community is over,” said Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks, adding that officers were working to identify the suspect and determine a motive. Officers described the scene as chaotic, with multiple victims treated by emergency personnel and investigators combing the parking lot for evidence.
Eyewitness reports describe scenes of terror and quick action by bystanders. One witness said he saw a figure with an AR-style rifle coming out of the drive-thru area and then saw a man with a pistol exchange gunfire with that individual, suggesting a private citizen may have engaged the suspect before officers arrived.
Witness Lane Koehn gave a raw account of what he saw, noting both the violence and the immediate response from people at the restaurant. He described an In-N-Out employee dragging a wounded coworker across the lot, and said that the armed civilian and others stayed with the injured employee until paramedics arrived to administer aid.
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He then saw someone in an In-N-Out uniform drag a person, also uniformed, bleeding from a gunshot wound in her chest across the parking lot. The employee, Koehn and the man with the pistol stayed until paramedics arrived for her.
“She was pretty bad off, but I don’t know. I hope she made it,” Koehn said.
Video captured from a nearby vehicle shows more of the tense moments in the lot, with a man in dark clothing moving near parked cars before pointing what appears to be a handgun. Two shots can be heard on the footage and both are accompanied by visible muzzle flashes, after which the man walks away and then breaks into a run, still carrying the firearm.
Two shots ring out in quick succession, with a visible muzzle flash accompanying each discharge.
The man then lowers the weapon and briskly walks away before breaking into a run across the parking lot, still carrying the firearm.
The person filming can be heard whispering, “Oh my gosh” moments before the shots.
First responders arrived and quickly moved to secure the scene, treat the wounded, and coordinate with investigators arriving on site. Authorities have been piecing together timelines from surveillance, witness statements, and video to understand how events unfolded and how many assailants were involved.
Community members described the aftermath as a mix of grief and gratitude for those who stepped in to help. Employees, customers, and passersby worked together in those first brutal minutes to pull people to safety, apply pressure to wounds, and keep others calm until emergency crews could take over.
Police emphasized the investigation is ongoing and that they are working to identify the shooter’s motives and any potential accomplices. Officials asked anyone with footage or information to come forward to aid in reconstructing the timeline and ensuring the community has answers.
Local leaders and residents are now grappling with the emotional fallout, while authorities continue forensic work at the scene and interviews with witnesses. The focus remains on supporting victims, securing evidence, and preventing further harm as the case moves forward.
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