An employee killed in the deadly shooting at an In-N-Out Burger in Idaho was a “beautiful” drive-thru associate, the company’s franchise owner has said.
In-N-Out president Lynsi Snyder said she was devastated by Saturday afternoon’s attack at the newly opened Twin Falls restaurant, where at least two people were killed and seven others were injured.
Snyder did not identify the employee who died. Authorities have not released the names of the victims or the suspected gunman as they continue notifying relatives. Investigators said the suspect died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“My heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed,” Snyder said in a statement posted Sunday.
“We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight. She was taking care of our most important asset – our Customers, and her life was taken by a disgusting human who doesn’t value the lives of others or his own,” she said.
Snyder added that the gunman opened fire both on and off the restaurant property before taking his own life “shortly after he took the precious lives of our Associate and Customers, innocent people who never saw it coming.”
Twin Falls city public information officer Josh Palmer said police found the suspected shooter’s body in an area near the restaurant. He said three people died in total, a figure that may include the gunman.
Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks told reporters Saturday that investigators were still working to confirm the shooter’s identity and determine a possible motive.
In-N-Out president Lynsi Snyder (pictured) said her ‘heart is broken’ after the attack which killed at least two people and left seven more injured at the newly-opened Twin Falls branch on Saturday. She said one of the victims was a ‘beautiful’ associate working at the drive-thru
Snyder also blasted the gunman as ‘a disgusting human who doesn’t value the lives of others or his own’. He turned the gun on himself after the attack, according to police
‘We believe the threat to the community is over,’ Hicks said. ‘It was a very chaotic scene.’
Video from the scene also showed a second shooter firing at the suspect with a handgun, with witnesses claiming he was a heroic bystander who shot back at the gunman and helped victims get to safety.
However, following claims that the second shooter bravely took down the gunman himself, the chief of the neighboring Jerome Police Department, Duane Rubink, confirmed the suspect took his own life.
‘It appears there was one shooter who is deceased from a self inflicted gunshot,’ Rubink told CNN.
Footage also showed the suspected killer, armed with an AR-style rifle, opening fire from the drive-thru, sending dozens of terrified witnesses scrambling for their lives just after 2pm.
Witness Lane Koehn, 34, said he saw the bystander with a handgun spring into action when the suspect began the shooting spree, saying he returned fire before rushing to the side of an In-N-Out employee who was shot to help get her to safety.
He said the uniformed employee had suffered a gunshot wound to her chest, and said the hero bystander – who he claimed told him he was a retired paramedic – stayed by her side until an ambulance arrived.
Images circulating across social media appeared to show a gunman armed with a camouflaged AR-style assault rifle, wearing glasses, blue jeans, and a black T-shirt with a logo on the chest
Witnesses shared footage of terrified people running for their lives following the bloody attack
‘She was pretty bad off, but I don’t know. I hope she made it,’ Koehn said.
Koehn said he was told by police to evacuate because the shooting was still active.
He also said the shooter fired at least three or four rounds and it was not clear whether or not anyone in particular was targeted.
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. It was very scary,’ Dodaro told AP in a text message.
After moving to a nearby parking lot from the drive-thru, a witness said the gunman ‘was panicking… He was not very calm and collected, running and slinging his rifle around firing’
Nayeli Rodriguez, 40, of Burley, was inside waiting for food with her daughters when she heard shots from the kitchen.
An employee said it was a shooting and told people to get down. Rodriguez said 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 said, also via text message. ‘I left my car there in the parking lot.’
The In-N-Out opened just about a week earlier, on July 24, as part of the company’s recent expansion to Idaho.
Police said multiple people were taken to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center.
Twin Falls, a city of about 56,000 people, is about 130 miles (205 kilometers) southeast of Boise and about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of the Nevada border.
