In-N-Out Shooter’s Former Classmate Reveals What Sparked His Downward Spiral

The gunman who killed three people at an In-N-Out Burger in Idaho had once held a student government role in college before being impeached from the position.

Chad Williams, 24, opened fire at the fast-food restaurant on Saturday, striking ten people before fatally shooting himself.

Williams had attended the College of Southern Idaho, where he was studying nursing with hopes of building a career in healthcare, and also served as a student senator.

His time in student government ended in 2023, when he was impeached over a lack of engagement. He later left the school after two years without completing his degree.

Elijah Moseley, a former classmate who also took part in student government, said he was stunned by the apparent decline of the quiet nursing student he once knew.

‘He didn’t need a lot of attention,’ Moseley told The Arizona Republic.

Moseley said Williams’s reserved personality seemed intentional, adding that being low-key ‘was kind of how he liked it.’

Still, Moseley remembered Williams, who lived across the hall from him, as a supportive friend who often smiled.

In February 2023, Williams was impeached while serving as a student senator.

‘He just wasn’t as involved anymore,’ Moseley recalled. ‘Wasn’t as interested, wasn’t attending as much.’

Moseley said the scholarship associated with the role required holding office hours, attending meetings and helping plan events.

Over the last year, the pair lost touch and Moseley said he was ‘heartbroken’ to hear about the ‘wrong’ and ‘evil’ shooting. He told the outlet he wasn’t sure what may have occurred in Williams’ life to lead to the tragedy on Saturday. 

‘All I know is what he was to me, back in the day,’ he said. 

Williams appeared to engage in more right-wing posts on X, and expressed concerns over crime and the restriction of gun rights and immigration enforcement, the outlet reported. 

The Twin Falls Police Department said that investigators are ‘confident’ that Williams acted alone, although a motive for the tragedy remains unclear. 

Williams killed three people, including a beloved employee, the president of the company revealed. 

Seven others were left injured in the rampage. Two of them were taken to the hospital and later released, the agency said. 

Three victims were stable after the shooting, and the remaining two have been left in critical condition. 

Williams died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after turning the weapon on himself. Authorities are ‘confident’ he acted alone, Hicks said.

Two of the three people who were killed in Saturday’s shooting have been identified by loved ones as In-N-Out employee Ashley Garibay, 23, of Stockton, California, and Christopher Claunch, 59, an employee at Renaissance Ranch Recovery Center. 

Claunch’s sister, Kimberly Castaneda, told the New York Times that her brother had been sober for two years after struggling with alcoholism. 

She reminisced about spending time with him during the Fourth of July holiday and how she enjoyed his carefree attitude.

‘My silly brother took my headband that I was wearing with little tin wheels on it… and he sat with those things on like it was just no big deal,’ she told the Times.

‘He was always being a goofball.’

Claunch was from California but lived in Idaho for about three decades, Castaneda said. 

Garibay’s mother, Sabrina Garibay, changed her profile picture to an image of the two after the shooting, and loved ones commented their condolences.

‘Ashley you are so beautiful. You will be missed so much. I remember when you were baby and you to come stay with me so mom could go to work,’ one family member commented.

‘You have become a beautiful young lady. Rest in paradise.’

An off-duty state trooper and a civilian, identified as 35-year-old Jordan Salinas, opened fire at the gunman on Saturday afternoon, helping prevent further tragedy, the police chief added. 

Salinas was seen in now-viral footage aiming at Williams. He and the trooper both jumped into action and ultimately saved the lives of others, Hicks said. 

‘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,’ he continued. 

‘We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties.’ 

Lane Koehn told NBC News that he saw the civilian shooting at Williams. 

‘I could tell he was trying to figure out where to go, and somebody in the drive-thru line with a handgun was shooting at him,’ Koehn recalled. 

He said the shooter was ‘panicked’ and acting ‘kind of erratically,’ but the armed civilian distracted him from causing more carnage.

‘The shooter was solely focused on him, and [it] allowed us to get out. I mean, the car directly ahead of me was getting shot – it gave them time to leave,’ he added. 

In a statement on Sunday, In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder shared that a ‘beautiful’ restaurant employee died in the tragedy. 

‘My heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed,’ Snyder said in a statement. 

Police found the body of the suspected gunman in an area near the restaurant, Twin Falls city public information officer Josh Palmer previously said. 

Williams’ family is cooperating with police, Hicks said.