Idaho In-N-Out Burger Shooting Motive Still A Mystery:  Idaho Man Jordan Salinas Who Returned Fire–’He Did Not Like It When Bullets Started Firing Both Ways’

Police are still working to determine why a 24-year-old gunman opened fire at a crowded In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, killing three people and wounding seven others before taking his own life after taking fire from a bystander and an off-duty Idaho state trooper. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said Sunday that investigators were confident Chad Williams acted alone in Saturday’s attack, but detectives had not yet established a motive or fully traced his movements before the shooting.

“We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties,” Hicks said of an armed citizen and officer who returned fire. “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.” Police have not publicly identified the trooper or the bystander, but the Idaho Statesman detailed the heroics of Jordan Salinas, 35, of Kimberly, Idaho, strapped by the shoulder with a FN Five-seveN semi-automatic pistol fitted with a suppressor.

Salinas, a reported “healthcare worker, the full-time caregiver of his wheelchair-bound brother,” told the paper he took up gun training after a 2021 shooting – never even aiming a gun at an animal – saying he was able to “observe,” “orient” and “decide” that “OK, this is the guy,” he said before being resolute to “act.” The gunman, he said, was shocked by the armed response. “He did not like it when bullets started firing both ways,” Salinas, whose girlfriend at the restaurant was stuck in Williams fire, told the Statesman, adding he felt “no fear”…There’s a task that needs to be done, and we’re the ones who need to do it,” he added, only standing down when he said police took over the scene, thinking, “OK, my part is done.”

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(Editor’s Note: “Thank you Lord for courageous citizens willing to confront/remove evil as it happens. Continue to bless Jordan Salinas and the off-duty police officer.” 

Mike Hernandez, is co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “CaliRed News” on Substack.com and “Prayer Over News Daily” and other columns. Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists and can be contacted at MikeHernandezMedia.com dedicated to advancing truth, service, and hope through Mission News Service. He is also founder/publisher/editor of https://calirednews.com/.