Three dead, two wounded in shooting at Idaho In-N-Out Burger; gunman also dead

The attack

On Saturday, August 1, around 2 p.m. local time, a gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho. The fast-food location, which had opened just a week earlier, was extremely busy, with hundreds of people in the surrounding commercial area on Blue Lakes Boulevard North. The restaurant is part of a busy district that includes hotels, national chain stores, and a movie theater complex. Videos posted on social media showed more than a dozen people fleeing the restaurant as shots rang out. Police received reports of an active shooter and responded with officers from city, county, and state agencies.

Casualties and the gunman

Three people were killed and two others wounded, according to city spokesperson Josh Palmer. Some of the injured were in critical condition. The suspected shooter, described as a young man carrying a rifle, was found dead near the restaurant. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks confirmed the gunman's death but said he could not yet provide an exact number of fatalities. It remains unclear whether the attacker is counted among the three dead. One unconfirmed report suggested he may have been of Croatian origin.

It was a very chaotic scene.

Witness accounts

An eyewitness told The New York Times that the gunman appeared panicked, running around and swinging his rifle indiscriminately. "You could tell he was panicking. He was anything but calm and collected," the witness said. Another witness, Lane Koehn, was waiting at a traffic light near the restaurant when he saw the armed man emerge from the drive-in area. Koehn then observed a second armed civilian draw a pistol and fire at the attacker.

Armed civilian intervenes

The role of the armed civilian remains unclear. Koehn said the man shot at the gunman, but it is not known whether he hit him or influenced the attacker's actions. After the exchange, the civilian helped tend to a seriously wounded restaurant employee. Koehn, a colleague of the employee, and the armed man stayed with her until paramedics arrived. On social media, the unidentified man was being hailed as a hero.

Investigation and response

Police lifted shelter-in-place orders and reopened roads in the area by Saturday evening. Chief Hicks told reporters that "we believe the threat to the community has passed." Palmer urged the public to rely only on official information, noting that "we are seeing a lot of misinformation on social media." Authorities were working to identify the gunman and determine a motive, reviewing surveillance footage and planning to interview hundreds of potential witnesses. In-N-Out Burger executive Denny Warnick said the company was "deeply saddened" and would cooperate with the investigation. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho thanked first responders and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families.

We are deeply saddened. Our thoughts are with our customers, our employees and their families.