When shots started ringing out outside a brand-new In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, panic took over. People ran for cover. Others dropped to the ground. But at least two men moved toward the gunfire instead.
According to ABC News, 35-year-old Jordan Salinas and an off-duty Idaho State Police trooper confronted the rifle-armed gunman, forcing him to stop shooting at passing vehicles and retreat until responding officers arrived. Authorities now believe those actions likely saved lives. ABC News first reported the details of Salinas’ account and investigators’ assessment.
The attack left three people dead and seven others wounded outside the crowded restaurant, which had opened only a week earlier. Police identified the suspect as 24-year-old Chad Williams.
Salinas told ABC News he spotted the suspect standing near the road with a rifle aimed at traffic.
“I peeked around the right-hand side of that sign closest to the road, and that’s where I saw the individual with his rifle pointed at the vehicles,” Salinas said.
He decided to engage.
Authorities say that once rounds started coming back at the suspect, everything changed.
“He seemed unusually comfortable aiming that rifle at those cars, and then as soon as some rounds started coming at him, everything changed immediately,” Salinas said. “All that bravado… immediately crumbled.”
Investigators believe the combined response from Salinas and the off-duty trooper disrupted the attack, giving countless people a chance to escape.
Salinas said he had spent the last five years preparing for the possibility of a mass shooting, regularly training in hopes he would never have to use those skills.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) praised both armed citizens for stepping into danger instead of running away.
Clearly from the videos we’ve seen, the citizen, identified as Jordan Salinas, disregarded his personal safety in a courageous effort to stop the shooting,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.
Gottlieb also pointed out that Salinas was reportedly armed with a Five-seveN pistol equipped with a suppressor while confronting a rifle-armed attacker.
“You can’t invent that kind of courage,” Gottlieb said. “We’re impressed how two good guys, acting independently of one another, moved in on the perpetrator, causing him to retreat until uniformed officers could arrive.”
CCRKBA also noted that Salinas had reportedly begun training after reading about a previous mall shooting in Boise. Like many concealed carriers, he hoped those skills would never be needed.
Just as important, Salinas told ABC News that he wasn’t the only hero that day. After the shooting stopped, dozens of ordinary people rushed in to help the wounded, providing first aid until emergency crews arrived.
The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing, and authorities have not yet announced a motive. Stay tuned for updates.
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