Wanjiru Waweru, Jadetimes Contributor
W. Waweru is a Jadetimes News Reporter Covering America News
Twin Falls, Idaho — Investigators on Monday, August 3, determined that the 24-year-old man started the fire at the fast food restaurant on August 1. The attack that left 10 victims, including 3 people dead, and 7 others injured, according to authorities, the suspect committed suicide.
Police Chief Matthew Hicks reported Sunday, August 2, that detectives revealed the name of the suspect, who was identified as Chad Williams, who acted solo in the August 1 Mass Shooting at the In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, a southern Idaho city with 56,000 residents. He reported that Williams’s family is collaborating completely with the ongoing investigation.
An off-duty state trooper and a civilian fired on the suspect and disarmed him from the restaurant, according to the Chief. Police have not yet confirmed or mentioned the victims. Twin Falls spokesperson Josh Palmer stated on Monday that the police are continuing to identify them.
According to NPR, “Police said multiple people were taken to St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center. Hospital spokesperson Taylor Marschner said in a statement that it was ‘working closely with law enforcement and emergency responders as they manage the situation.’”
Two of the injured victims were sent to the hospital and released; three were classified as stable, and two others were in critical condition, as the police stated on Sunday.
An In-N-Out employee was pronounced deceased, the Fast-Food Chain’s owner, Lynsi Snyder, expressed in a statement. She did not mention the employee’s name.
The restaurant, which opened July 24 as part of the California chain’s Idaho expansion, is in a occupation shopping plaza; hundreds of people were in the area when they witnessed the shooting.
Lane Koehn, 34, said he was at the stoplight when he saw someone with an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru. A man with a pistol began firing at the shooter.
Koehn caught someone in an In-N-Out uniform dragging a person, also wearing a uniform, bleeding from a gunshot wound to her chest, around the parking lot. The employee, Koehn, and the man stayed with her until paramedics came to rescue her.
She was pretty bad off, but I don’t know. I hope she made it,” said Koehn.
Koehn stated the man held the rifle and fired at least three or four rounds, though it has not been clear if anyone was targeted.
A driver took a video from across the street showing a suspect who wore a dark outfit walking to a white car holding a rifle, revealing the driver-side door and bursting the trunk. The person then headed to the trunk and opened it. At that point, the driver who recorded the video began to run quicking fearly that suspect probably receiving more weapons.
Nayeli Rodriguez, 40, of Burley was inside the restaurant waiting for food with her daughters when she heard the gunshots from the kitchen. An employee reported that it was a mass shooting and suggested that people needed to drop down. Rodriguez told an older man to try his hardest to save her and her daughters; they ran outside.
"We were trying to get as far as we could, and some angels let us in their car," said Rodriguez via text message. "I left my car there in the parking lot."
About Wanjiru Waweru
Wanjiru Waweru is a Jadetimes Contributor. You can email Wanjiru at sellmypaperwork@gmail.com.
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