Three Dead, Seven Wounded in Idaho In-N-Out Shooting

Twin Falls police responded to reports of an active shooter at a newly opened In-N-Out Burger on Blue Lakes Boulevard around 2 p.m. Saturday, finding three people dead and seven others wounded, some critically. The suspected gunman was later located dead near the restaurant, with officials saying he appeared to have taken his own life.

The restaurant sits in a busy shopping plaza that includes stores like Best Buy and Petco, drawing hundreds of shoppers on a summer afternoon. Witnesses described sudden chaos as shots rang out from inside the building and spilled into the parking lot. Nayeli Rodriguez, 40, was waiting for food with her daughters when she heard gunfire from the kitchen area. An employee shouted that it was a shooting and told everyone to get down. Rodriguez said an older man shielded her and her children as they fled, and strangers later gave them a ride to safety after she left her car behind.

Lane Koehn, 34, was stopped at a nearby traffic light when he saw a man with an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru. Another man with a pistol immediately returned fire at the shooter. Koehn then watched an In-N-Out employee in uniform drag a wounded colleague across the lot, the injured woman bleeding from a chest wound. Koehn and the armed bystander stayed with her until paramedics arrived. He said police later ordered him to leave because the threat remained active.

In-N-Out president Lynsi Snyder issued a statement expressing grief over the loss of one of the chain's associates, who was killed while serving customers. Snyder called the gunman a disgusting human who did not value the lives of others or his own, noting that the shooter took lives both on and off the property before ending his own. She said the company would mourn with the families and urged people to seek comfort in God rather than anger.

Police Chief Matthew Hicks described the scene as chaotic and tragic. City spokesman Josh Palmer said the number of victims could rise as officials continue notifying families and interviewing witnesses. The FBI is assisting the investigation, though no details on the shooter's identity or motive have been released yet. Officials stressed that the immediate threat to the community has ended.

The attack marks another violent episode in a year that has already seen hundreds of mass shootings across the country. Local authorities are now piecing together how a routine Saturday at a fast food restaurant turned deadly so quickly, with hundreds of potential witnesses scattered across the plaza.