Suspect in deadly shooting at Idaho In-N-Out died of self-inflicted gunshot wound; 2 'heroic' bystanders fired at him: Police

The suspect in a deadly shooting at an Idaho In-N-Out Burger over the weekend died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound — and two "heroic" bystanders fired at the suspect and diverted him from the scene, police said, according to the Associated Press.

Investigators said the gunman — identified as 24-year-old Chad Williams — acted alone during Saturday afternoon's shooting at the Twin Falls fast-food restaurant, Police Chief Matthew Hicks said at a news conference, the AP reported.

'People were running out crying and screaming. It was very scary.'

Hicks also said an off-duty state trooper and an armed citizen — whose identities weren’t immediately disclosed — both fired back and diverted the gunman from the In-N-Out, the outlet added.

“We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties,” the chief said, according to the AP. “We want to take a moment and commend the actions of the off-duty officer and the citizen, and their heroic action to stop this incident.”

Three victims died and seven others were injured in the shooting, the outlet noted, adding that authorities said Sunday two of the injured were treated at a hospital and released, three were listed as stable, and two were in critical condition.

Hicks said detectives are working to determine Williams’ motives and that the suspect’s family was cooperating fully with law enforcement, the AP reported. Hicks also warned of misinformation spreading online identifying a different male as the shooter, noting that the individual had “no involvement in this incident whatsoever," the outlet reported.

Police who responded to the shooting found the body of the suspected gunman in an area near the restaurant, Twin Falls spokesperson Josh Palmer said, according to the AP.

Palmer added to the outlet that investigators were interviewing witnesses. The In-N-Out location — which had opened about a week earlier on July 24 as part of the California-based company’s recent expansion to Idaho — is in a busy shopping plaza, and hundreds of people were in the area when the shooting occurred around 2 p.m., the AP said.

Lane Koehn, 34, told the outlet he was at a stoplight near the In-N-Out when he saw a person with an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru while a man with a pistol started firing at the shooter.

Koehn then saw someone in an In-N-Out uniform drag a person also wearing a uniform — who was bleeding from a gunshot wound to her chest — across the parking lot, the AP reported. The employee, Koehn, and the man with the pistol stayed until paramedics arrived for her, the outlet added.

“She was pretty bad off, but I don’t know," Koehn told the AP. "I hope she made it."

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He said the shooter fired at least three or four rounds, but it was not clear if anyone in particular was targeted, the outlet said.

In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder said one of those killed was an employee, the AP reported.

“My heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed. We lost one of our beautiful associates tonight,” Snyder said in a statement released early Sunday on social media, the outlet added. “In-N-Out will be mourning with the families and praying for them as they tread through a very painful season.”

Snyder did not identify the worker in question, the AP said. Officials were still trying to notify relatives of victims and therefore were not yet releasing the victims' names, ages or other details about them, Palmer said, according to the outlet.

More from the AP:

Video taken by a driver from across the street captured a shooter, who appeared to be dressed in black, walking up to a white car carrying a long rifle, opening the driver-side door and popping the trunk. The person then walked to the trunk and reached inside. At that point the driver who shot the video left quickly, fearing that the man might be getting more weapons.

Twin Falls resident Haley Dodaro, 43, and her mother went to In-N-Out for lunch Saturday afternoon. While waiting in the drive-thru line, they saw people running across the road and workers bolting out of the restaurant. At first, Dodaro thought there might have been a fire, but then a man directing traffic in a reflective vest said there was a shooter.

“So that’s when we knew there was a shooting. People were running out crying and screaming," Dodaro said in a text message to the outlet, the AP said. "It was very scary."

Nayeli Rodriguez, 40, of Burley, was inside waiting for food with her daughters when she heard shots from the kitchen, the outlet noted, adding that an employee said it was a shooting and told people to get down.

Rodriguez told the AP an older man tried to protect her and her daughters, and they were among the last to run outside.

“We were trying to get as far as we could and some angels let us in their car,” Rodriguez added to the outlet, also via text message. “I left my car there in the parking lot.”

Twin Falls is in southern Idaho and about two hours southeast of Boise.

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