Idaho In-N-Out shooting: Jordan Salinas reveals how shooter Chad Williams 'crumbled' under return fire
The armed citizen who confronted the gunman during the deadly mass shooting outside an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, says the suspect’s confidence disappeared the moment bullets started coming toward him.
Jordan Salinas spoke about what he saw during Saturday’s shooting, in which authorities say 24-year-old Chad Williams killed three people and injured seven others before dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
What Jordan Salinas said about Chad Williams
Salinas told ABC News on Monday that he first spotted 24-year-old Chad Williams aiming his rifle at passing cars near the burger joint. Describing the moment, he said, “I peeked around the right-hand side of that sign closest to the road, and that’s when I saw the individual with his rifle pointed at the vehicles.”
As per Salinas, Williams looked completely calm while pointing the weapon at vehicles, but that composure vanished the second gunfire was returned. “He seemed unusually comfortable aiming that rifle at those cars,” Salinas said. He added, “As soon as some rounds started coming at him, everything changed immediately. All that bravado he had immediately crumbled.”
Salinas also told the Idaho Statesman that he followed a four-step approach he had practiced for years, Observe, Orient, Decide, Act, before firing his FN Five-Seven pistol.
He said, “He [Chad] did not like it when bullets started firing both ways.”
Also Read: Who is Jordan Salinas? 5 things to know about the ‘hero’ bystander who confronted Idaho shooter Chad Williams
Who is Jordan Salinas
Salinas, 35, is from Kimberly, Idaho and works as a healthcare worker, serving as the full-time caregiver for his wheelchair-bound brother.
He said he started training seriously with firearms after a 2021 shooting at the Boise Towne Square mall left two people dead. As per the Idaho Statesman, he reasoned that gunmen often target “soft targets,” and felt that a person in a wheelchair along with their caregiver could be seen as an easy target.
Salinas said he practices on weekends in the desert outside Eden, a small town in eastern Jerome County and had never pointed his gun at so much as an animal before Saturday.
Also Read: In-N-Out employee Ashley Garibay’s mother pays touching tribute amid death in Twin Falls mass shooting
What police have said about the shooting
According to Chief Hicks, Williams acted alone and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said Williams opened fire Saturday afternoon on Blue Lakes Boulevard, killing three people and injuring at least seven others, per KTVB.
Hicks also used a Sunday press conference to shut down misinformation circulating online about another individual allegedly being involved. “This information is absolutely false,” Hicks said.
Hicks described the scene as one of the most chaotic a law enforcement officer could face in a career.
The FBI is assisting the investigation and a motive remains unknown.