{"id":5953,"date":"2026-08-03T19:41:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/08\/03\/man-who-returned-fire-at-in-n-out-gunman-had-done-firearm-training-after-2021-mass-shooting\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T19:41:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:41:32","slug":"man-who-returned-fire-at-in-n-out-gunman-had-done-firearm-training-after-2021-mass-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=5953","title":{"rendered":"Man who returned fire at In-N-Out gunman had done firearm training after 2021 mass shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"86a94776-12a8-414e-9e55-f001ad32ad2e\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a police officer stands near the site of a shooting at a restaurant\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/dbb18e5c274135e788ea6a45f47e4d42bb18a433\/1072_0_2522_2018\/master\/2522.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.07375099127677\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">An emergency responder at the site of a fatal shooting in Twin Falls, Idaho on Saturday.<\/span> Photograph: KIVI via Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"86a94776-12a8-414e-9e55-f001ad32ad2e\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">An emergency responder at the site of a fatal shooting in Twin Falls, Idaho on Saturday.<\/span> Photograph: KIVI via Reuters<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Man who returned fire at In-N-Out gunman had done firearm training after 2021 mass shooting<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Police credited Jordan Salinas with limiting number of victims in attack on restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A healthcare worker returning fire on a 24-year-old gunman who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/02\/idaho-shooting-suspect-gunshot-wound-death\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">killed<\/a> three people and wounded several others an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, has said his impulse to confront the attacker was \u201cautomatic\u201d and \u201cmechanical\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"df98980a-b52a-4b71-bd6c-99d0fcdd006f\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-1 | 1\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-uyoh2p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/02\/shooting-at-in-n-out-burger-restaurant-in-idaho-leaves-multiple-people-dead-police-say\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">Shooting at In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Idaho leaves three people dead<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">That description from 35-year-old Jordan Salinas came in an interview with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahostatesman.com\/news\/local\/crime\/article316743551.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Idaho Statesman<\/a> that was published on Sunday, providing a detailed account of actions that police credited with limiting the number of victims in the attack a day earlier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Salinas said he was headed out for a horseback riding date with his girlfriend when they stopped at the burger restaurant for lunch at about 2.30pm on Saturday. Salinas saw people fleeing and heard the \u201cpop-pop-pop\u201d of gunfire, according to what he told the Statesman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">He said he ran toward the sound in an \u201cautomatic\u201d and \u201cmechanical\u201d response, drawing from a shoulder holster a semi-automatic pistol with a suppressor fixed to its barrel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Salinas said he had been training with firearms seriously since a deadly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2021\/oct\/25\/boise-idaho-towne-square-shopping-mall-shooting\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">shooting<\/a> at a mall in Boise, Idaho \u2013 about a two-hour drive from Twin Falls \u2013 left two dead and four wounded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">One of those killed was identified on Monday from social media posts by loved ones as 23-year-old Ashley Garibay, of Stockton, California. Garibay was an employee at the newly-opened outlet of the restaurant chain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Salinas said he watched on Saturday as an attacker later identified as Chad Williams, standing by the drive-through window, lifted a rifle to his shoulder and fired toward cars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Salinas countered by raising his pistol with both hands and firing. \u201cHe did not like it when bullets started firing both ways,\u201d Salinas told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Police later said the attacker died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, crediting Salinas and an off-duty officer for diverting the shooter with return fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties,\u201d said Matthew Hicks, the Twin Falls police chief, at a news conference. \u201cWe want to take a moment and commend the actions of the off-duty officer and the citizen \u2013 and their heroic action to stop this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Jack Johnson, the Twin Falls county sheriff, said: \u201cThese people are true heroes in our community. They diverted the shooter and without a doubt saved many lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Williams, 24, killed three victims before dying by his own hand, police said. Police added that he wounded seven others at the recently opened restaurant in the southern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/idaho\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Idaho<\/a> city of about 56,000 people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Two of the wounded were treated at a hospital and discharged; three were listed as stable; and two were in critical condition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Salinas \u2013 a full-time caregiver of his brother, who gets around in a wheelchair \u2013 said he felt \u201cno fear\u201d during the confrontation with Williams after following four steps he had learned in firearm training.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Those steps, he said, were \u201cobserve, orient, decide [and] act\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThere\u2019s a task that needs to be done, and we\u2019re the ones who need to do it,\u201d he told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The decision to take up firearms training, he said, came after he reasoned that gunmen go after \u201csoft targets\u201d. And a person in a wheelchair, and the aide at his side, would be exactly that, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cEveryone says, \u2018It\u2019s not going to happen here,\u2019\u201d Salinas said. \u201cBut what if it does?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Salinas\u2019s interview and the police\u2019s praise of him came amid a debate over the correct response of bystanders to mass shootings. Some witnesses to Saturday\u2019s attack in Twin Falls were reported to have slowed their cars and shouted at Williams.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">As of Monday morning, there had been at least 280 mass shootings reported across the US so far this year, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gunviolencearchive.org\/reports\/mass-shooting\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Gun Violence Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The archive, a non-partisan resource, defines mass shootings as cases in which four or more victims are shot or wounded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The high numbers of mass shootings annually reported in the US have driven calls for more substantial federal firearms restrictions. But Congress has not implemented such gun control over the years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/idaho\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Idaho<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-crime\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Man%20who%20returned%20fire%20at%20In-N-Out%20gunman%20had%20done%20firearm%20training%20after%202021%20mass%20shooting&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/03\/in-n-out-shooting-idaho?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Faug%2F03%2Fin-n-out-shooting-idaho&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/aug\/03\/in-n-out-shooting-idaho\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An emergency responder at the site of a fatal shooting in Twin Falls, Idaho on Saturday. Photograph: KIVI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}