LATEST UPDATES: Police, bystanders praise first responders and ‘hero’ citizens who took action to stop In-N-Out gunman
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On Saturday afternoon, a gunman opened fire on the In-N-Out Burger restaurant on the corner of Blue Lakes Boulevard and Fillmore Street in Twin Falls. At least three people were killed, and five were injured in and around the restaurant, a city spokesman said. The shooter is also dead, police confirmed in a news conference Saturday evening, but it is unknown whether he is included in the fatality count. What follows is the latest information on the investigation.
LATEST UPDATE:
Witnesses to the shooting shared their experiences with EastIdahoNews.com on Sunday.
Two Swig employees told our Logan Ramsey how they hid 18 people in a back bathroom and later saw the gunman walk through their drive-thru on surveillance video. And Priyank Agarwal, a Boise man who had to run for cover with his family at the visitor center, told us that all he could think was, “How do I save my family?’
All three expressed gratitude for the first responders who ran toward the danger to help them.
“Once they got there, that’s when we felt relief,” Agarwal said.
Read more about their experiences here:
RELATED | Witnesses share terrifying moments in hiding as Twin Falls gunman stalked them
4:30PM UPDATE:
Countless posts on social media have praised an armed civilian for engaging with Williams in an attempt to stop the shooting. Police have confirmed that the civilian and an off-duty law enforcement officer both exchanged gunfire with Williams, but they have not confirmed either person’s name.
“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.”
3:05PM UPDATE:
Chad Williams, 24, is the man who police say opened fire in and around the Twin Falls In-N-Out restaurant. His identity was released by Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks in a press conference on Sunday afternoon.
Hicks said Williams was found “deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” but the chief did not share information on a possible motive for the crime.
Police also confirmed that three people were killed and seven others were injured in the shooting. Of those injured, Hicks said two were treated and released, three remained hospitalized in “stable condition,” and two more are in critical condition.
The police chief did not identify any of the victims by name.
2:02PM UPDATE:
Law enforcement officers held a press conference on Sunday afternoon to share the latest updates on the deadly mass shooting in Twin Falls a day before. Watch the press conference in its entirety in the player below:
12:40PM UPDATE:
North Star Taxi has identified an employee as one of the people injured in Saturday’s shooting.
“Our driver Terry Dudley was the victim of a mass shooting today. He is alive but has a very long road ahead of him,” reads a social media post from the company.
The short post also states that the company will be closed for a couple of days, presumably due to its close connection to the shooting, and asks the public to keep Dudley in their prayers.
Dudley, a taxi driver, was apparently charging his Tesla when he was shot. A GoFundMe page shared by North Star Taxi says Dudley was “shot twice in the back” while charging the vehicle.
In a later post, North Star Taxi says Dudley was flown to a Boise hospital by medical helicopter and taken into surgery. The post says he was in “stable condition” as of early Sunday, but is “not out of the dark yet.”
Dudley is a widower and a dedicated father of four children, according to the GoFundMe page, created by a friend.
“Terry has dedicated his life to raising his three sons and daughter with love, strength, and unwavering devotion,” the webpage states. “They are his world.”
The fundraiser describes Dudley as “the kind of man who quietly puts others before himself, who works hard, loves deeply, and never hesitates to lend a helping hand.” The organizer says they hope to raise money to help Dudley and other victims of the shooting through this hard time.
Meanwhile, Twin Falls police plan to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. MDT to update the media on their investigation. EastIdahoNews.com will livestream that press conference here on our website and on our YouTube channel.
10:21AM UPDATE:
The FBI has established a digital media tip line for the public to submit images and videos related to the shooting.
Anyone with photos, videos, dashcam footage or other relevant media is asked to submit the files wrote on Facebook.
10:07AM UPDATE:
One of the people killed in Saturday’s shooting was an employee of the In-N-Out restaurant. The company confirmed the employee’s death in a statement released on social media late Saturday.
“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.
READ: In-N-Out president issues statement following deadly shooting at Twin Falls restaurant
Syder went on to say that the gunman “ended his life shortly after he took the precious lives of our Associate and Customers.” As of Sunday morning, police had not confirmed how the shooter died nor how many people he killed.
The company statement ends with a plea for people to “turn to God” to seek “comfort and strength for those who are hurting.”
Police held a news conference on Saturday announcing the fatalities. You can watch it here:
EastIdahoNews.com has a reporter in Twin Falls, and police are expected to hold a news conference on Sunday with the latest details. This story will be updated as we learn more.
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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.