Twenty-four-year-old Chad Williams turned a routine Saturday lunch rush into a bloodbath. But two men refused to let him keep firing.
Three people are dead, and seven more are recovering after a gunman opened fire outside a brand-new In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, on August 1, 2026. As chaos spread through the parking lot, two armed men — one an off-duty state trooper, the other a civilian bystander — turned around and fired back.
Police say their split-second decision changed everything. Now, one of those men has stepped forward, and his account of those "two or three minutes" reveals a level of preparation nobody expected.
Terrified Diners Scramble for Cover as Gunfire Shatters a Busy Lunch Rush
The Twin Falls In-N-Out had been open for barely a week when the shooting began just before 2:30 p.m., according to Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks. Dispatchers reportedly could hear screaming in the background as calls poured in.
Workers in their red aprons scrambled out the front door. Customers dove from their seats, and some barricaded themselves inside the restrooms as gunfire tore through the parking lot.
Dominic Gonzales was sitting in a car with his two younger brothers when the first shots rang out. He told CNN affiliate KMVT he saw a man walk from one vehicle to another with a pistol and fire directly into it, and he told his brothers to duck.
His sister, Jaylyn Sanchez, had just stepped into the restroom when the shooting began. When she was told it was safe to leave, she ran straight into the gunman's path, later saying he pointed his weapon at her before she ducked behind a parked car for cover.
A Driver Captures the Moment an Armed Bystander Returns Fire
Eddie Lane Koehn was stopped at a red light just outside the restaurant when the shooting started right in front of him. In a local news interview, he described watching someone fire into a car only 30 to 40 feet away, using what looked like a semi-automatic rifle.
Then Koehn saw something else: a man in the drive-through line raising a handgun and firing back at the shooter. The two exchanged gunfire as they ducked behind the restaurant's signage, both trying to dodge bullets.
Koehn believes that the armed bystander bought the crowd critical time. "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," he told NBC News.
Panic gripped the packed scene as ordinary diners scrambled for cover from the unexpected barrage of gunfire. Witnesses watched in utter disbelief as an armed citizen stepped up to prevent further loss. | Source: YouTube/@livenowfox
Panic gripped the packed scene as ordinary diners scrambled for cover from the unexpected barrage of gunfire. Witnesses watched in utter disbelief as an armed citizen stepped up to prevent further loss. | Source: YouTube/@livenowfox
Traumatized Witnesses Scramble to Help Victims as the Shooter Reloads
The gunman didn't stop after the first exchange. Koehn said he unloaded entire magazines at a time, reloading and firing into parked vehicles without any apparent pattern.
Taxi driver Terry Dudley was shot twice in the back while charging his Tesla near the restaurant, according to his coworker James Crow. Dudley's son Michael later said his father remains intubated after being airlifted to a hospital, though he's showing signs of improvement.
An In-N-Out employee was also shot in the chest. Koehn watched a coworker drag her toward the sidewalk while screaming her name, trying to keep her conscious until paramedics arrived.
