Police Praise Off-Duty Trooper For Opening Fire on In-N-Out Burger Gunman Who Killed 3

Police in Twin Falls, ID, praised an off-duty state trooper and an armed citizen for firing back at a gunman who killed three people and injured seven others at an In-N-Out Burger on Saturday.

During a press conference Sunday, Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks praised the two men as heroes for distracting the active shooter.

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

Police have identified the shooter as 24-year-old Chad Williams, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Hicks said detectives were trying to determine a motive, adding that the suspect’s family was cooperating fully with law enforcement.

“Yesterday at 2:29 p.m. multiple 911 calls were received by the communication center,” Hicks said. “Dispatchers could hear screaming and reports of gunshots in the background.”

Twin Falls spokesperson Josh Palmer said the restaurant is in a busy shopping plaza, and hundreds of people were in the area when it happened around 2 p.m. That chain location had only just opened on July 24, “as part of the California-based company’s recent expansion to Idaho,” according to PBS News.

The president of In-N-Out Burger, Lynsi Snyder, confirmed that one restaurant employee and two customers were killed in the shooting.

She wrote on social media, “My heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed. We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight. In-N-Out will be mourning with the families and praying for them as they tread through a very painful season.”

Fox News reported that two of the injured remain hospitalized in critical condition.

The FBI encouraged anyone with images and videos of the the incident to share them with law enforcement.

Watch the clip above via Fox News.

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