Shooting at Twin Falls In-N-Out Leaves Three Dead and Seven Injured; Suspect Found Dead (Video)

A gunman opened fire at the newly opened In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho, on Saturday afternoon, killing three people and injuring seven others before being found dead near the scene.

The shooting began around 2:29 p.m. local time at the restaurant on Blue Lakes Boulevard North. Twin Falls police and officers from surrounding agencies responded to reports of an active shooter. The In-N-Out location had opened only about a week earlier, on July 24 or 25, as part of the chain’s expansion into Idaho.

According to city and police officials, three people were killed and seven were wounded, with some of the injured listed in critical condition. One of those killed was an In-N-Out associate, according to company president Lynsi Snyder. Officials said they were still notifying next of kin and had not released the names or additional details of the victims pending those notifications. The suspected gunman was also found dead in the vicinity of the restaurant.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene. Lane Koehn, 34, told reporters he was stopped at a traffic light near the restaurant when he saw a person carrying an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru area. A separate man armed with a pistol then began firing at the shooter. Koehn said he later saw someone in an In-N-Out uniform dragging a bleeding coworker, also in uniform and shot in the chest, across the parking lot. He and the man with the pistol stayed with the wounded employee until paramedics arrived.

Videos circulating online captured portions of the chaos outside the restaurant, including the gunman moving through the area with a long rifle. Police Chief Matthew Hicks described the overall scene as “very chaotic” and confirmed that the threat to the community had ended. The FBI is assisting the investigation. Authorities were still working to identify the shooter and determine a motive, and they urged the public to refrain from sharing unconfirmed information circulating on social media.

In a statement, In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder said the company had lost one of its associates who was serving customers. Snyder stated that the gunman “shot both on our property and off, and ended his own life shortly after he took the previous lives of our Associate and Customers.” A Jerome police chief separately told CNN that it appeared the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot. While witnesses reported a civilian returning fire with a pistol, available official and company statements indicate the suspect’s death was self-inflicted. A full determination of the precise circumstances surrounding the shooter’s death remains part of the ongoing investigation.

In-N-Out Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick expressed that the company was heartbroken and was cooperating with Twin Falls police. Nearby businesses, including a Chick-fil-A, temporarily closed out of caution. The restaurant sits in a busy commercial area, and hundreds of people were in the vicinity when the shooting occurred.

Investigators continued interviewing witnesses late Saturday as they worked to piece together the full sequence of events, the shooter’s identity, and any possible motive. No additional threat to the public has been reported.