Of heroes and broken hearts: Meet the people involved in the Twin Falls shooting
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Trey Baylor, Courtroom Insider
TWIN FALLS — After three people died and seven were injured in the shooting at the Twin Falls In-N-Out Burger on Saturday, we have learned some of the names of those involved.
During the tragic events, multiple individuals ran towards the gunfire to help instead of away. A release from the Twin Falls Police Department said a citizen and an off-duty state trooper returned fire against the gunman. A Twin Falls man ran towards the gunfire and was struck while trying to help.
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Jordan Salinas
Jordan Salinas has been identified as the citizen seen in videos using a suppressed handgun to fire back at the shooter outside of the restaurant.
The Idaho Statesman spoke with Salinas, who said he and his girlfriend stopped at In-N-Out for lunch. When he saw people fleeing, he assumed there was a kitchen fire until he heard the gunshots.
At the sound of gunfire, Salinas reportedly ran towards the mayhem and drew his sidearm, a suppressed handgun. Salinas told the Statesman that after the Boise Towne Square Mall shooting in 2021, he began training more seriously with his sidearm.
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Salinas identified the shooter and reportedly returned fire.
“He did not like it when bullets started firing both ways,” Salinas told the Statesman.
Salinas was uninjured and stood down when law enforcement arrived on scene, according to the newspaper.
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Austin “AJ” James
Austin “AJ” James, also known as AJ Scott, was at the scene at the time of the shooting and immediately ran to try to help.
A GiveSendGo posted by his family says he, his wife and a friend were all stopped at In-N-Out for lunch when James heard gunfire.
James reportedly, without hesitation, ran towards the sound. The fundraiser page says he intentionally did not draw his firearm in order to make sure law enforcement didn’t confuse him with the shooter when they arrived.
James turned a corner and came face-to-face with the shooter. He was struck, hitting a major artery, but James bought time for others to escape.
“Despite being critically wounded, Austin’s actions drew the suspect’s attention away from others who were in the area,” James’ fundraiser page states.
James’ wife and their friend are both emergency room nurses. They were able to keep James’ bleeding under control while they transported him to a local hospital. James was reportedly taken in for emergency surgery and he will have to have more surgeries in the future.
RELATED | Twin Falls man struck in In-N-Out shooting when he ran toward the gunfire to help
The off-duty state trooper
In addition to Salinas, an off-duty state trooper also returned fire on the shooter at In-N-Out. The trooper’s identity has not been released.
The combined shooting from Salinas and the off-duty state trooper drove the gunman away from the In-N-Out drive-through, the Idaho Statesman reports.
“These people are true heroes in our community,” said Twin Falls County Sheriff Jack Johnson. He said the men “without a doubt saved many lives.”
Ashley Garibay
In a statement posted to social media, In-N-Out has confirmed one of the individuals killed was an employee of the company. Friends and family have identified the worker as Ashley Garibay, 23, of Stockton, California, according to The Daily Mail.
“We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight. 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,” reads the statement from Lynsi Snyder, owner and president of In-N-Out Burger.
“We are heartbroken and devastated by the loss of Ashley — a devoted daughter, sister, auntie, cousin and friend — whose life was taken from us far too soon,” Garibay’s family wrote in a statement provided to the Idaho Statesman.
Garibay’s family has a GoFundMe you can donate to.
Christopher Claunch
Christopher Claunch, 59, of Hagerman, was originally from California and had been living in Idaho for the last three decades. When In-N-Out opened in Twin Falls on July 24, he was excited, but wanted to wait until things slowed down before he visited, his sister told The Daily Mail.
He had been two years sober after a struggle with alcoholism, and his sister described him as being goofy and carefree. He worked at the Renaissance Ranch Recovery Center in Rupert, according to KIVI.
She says she was shocked to find out her brother had been among the victims on Saturday.
Claunch passed away from his injuries.
Dale and Reinette Schultz
EastIdahoNews.com got in contact with the cousin of Dale and Reinette Schultz, who were involved in the shooting. According to their cousin, they were traveling from Salt Lake for a family reunion in Wendell.
They stopped at the Tesla charging stations near the restaurant when the gunman fired on them.
Dale, 66, has died of his injuries. Reinette was flown to a hospital in Salt Lake for medical treatment.
The Schultz’s have a GoFundMe where you can donate.
Terry Dudley
Terry Dudley has been confirmed as one of the victims of the shooter. He is alive but facing a long road to recovery, according to a statement from his employer, North Star Taxi.
Dudley was charging his vehicle at the Tesla charging stations when he was shot. A GoFundMe shared by North Star Taxi says he was shot twice in the back.
North Star Taxi said Dudley was flown to a hospital in Boise for surgery, and he is in stable condition.
“Terry has dedicated his life to raising his three sons and daughter with love, strength, and unwavering devotion,” the GoFundMe for Dudley states. “They are his world.”
Dudley is described as “the kind of man who quietly puts others before himself, who works hard, loves deeply, and never hesitates to lend a helping hand.”
Steven Pixley
Pixley had been riding his motorbike near In-N-Out when he suddenly felt a pain in his arm and couldn’t lift it, according to a spokesperson for his family. It wasn’t until he arrived at the hospital he realized he had been shot and became aware of the situation at In-N-Out.
Pixley was struck in the left arm and required reconstructive surgery. He will require specialist care and further procedures, but he is in stable condition.
Pixley will need time to recover, both emotionally and physically. His family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover his expenses during this time.
“While we aren’t happy this happened, this isn’t a time for hate,” said the family’s spokesperson. “More of a time to take a look at your family, take a look at your loved ones and consider the relationship in this world that has gotten a little bit hateful.”
Unidentified victims
Two other individuals were injured in the shooting but EastIdahoNews.com has not yet been able to confirm their identities. This article will be updated when we do.
Our attorneys tell us we need to put this disclaimer in stories involving fundraisers: EastIdahoNews.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries.