Who is Jordan Salinas? 5 things to know about the ‘hero’ bystander who confronted Idaho shooter Chad Williams
A gunman named Chad Williams opened fire in the drive-thru of a newly opened In-N-Out Burger in Twin FallsIdaho, on Saturday. Three people were killed and several others were injured after an armed bystander exchanged gunfire with the rifle-armed suspectwho later fled and was found dead nearby.
The bystander, Jordan Salinas, has now come forward and shared his account of what happened with the Idaho Statesman. However, police still haven’t officially named the armed civilian who exchanged gunfire with the suspect.
Also Read: Who was Chad Williams? Idaho Twin Falls shooting suspect identified
Here are five things to know about him:
- Salinas, who is 35, of Kimberly, Idaho, is a healthcare worker who serves as the full-time caregiver for his wheelchair-bound brother, as per the Idaho Statesman.
- He said he began training seriously with firearms after a 2021 shooting at the Boise Towne Square mall killed two people. He reasoned that gunmen often go after “soft targets” and that a person in a wheelchair, along with their caregiver, would be an easy target.
- Salinas said he trains on weekends in the desert outside of Eden, a small town in eastern Jerome County, and had never pointed his gun at so much as an animal before Saturday.
- Salinas followed a four-step approach he said he’d practiced for years, Observe, Orient, Decide, Act before firing his FN Five-Seven pistol at the shooter, saying, “He did not like it when bullets started firing both ways.” He added that he felt “no fear” before, during or after firing, telling the Idaho Statesman, “There’s a task that needs to be done, and we’re the ones who need to do it.”
- Salinas said the last thing he remembers hearing before running toward the gunfire was his girlfriend calling out his name, “Jordan!” She later confirmed his role in confronting the shooter.
What happened that day
According to Idaho Statesman, Salinas and his girlfriend had planned a quiet Saturday. They were set to go horseback riding in Hagerman, then stop for lunch in Twin Falls before hitting the road. He pulled into the In-N-Out around 2:30pm and saw people running out of the restaurant. He first thought it was a kitchen fire, but then he heard gunfire.
Salinas ran toward the sound, calling it an “automatic,” “mechanical” response. He recalled hearing his girlfriend shout his name, just before the shooting started again.
Staying out of sight, Salinas spotted the shooter, identified by police as 24-year-old Chad Williams, standing near the drive-through window and firing at cars. Salinas fired back with his pistol. An off-duty policeman, who happened to be a customer at the restaurant, joined in, and their combined fire pushed the shooter toward an open parking lot near the city’s visitor center.
Witness Lane Koehn, 34, told the Associated Press he saw a person with a pistol begin firing at the rifle-armed gunman after the suspect emerged from the drive-thru and that the man stayed at the scene to help a wounded In-N-Out employee until paramedics arrived.
On X, several users have praised Salinas for his actions, with posts calling him a “hero,” including one that read, “This is the hero that confronted the In-N-Out gunman in Idaho. Meet Jordan Salinas.”
Also Read: Twin Falls active shooter update: Is the suspect in custody after deadly In-N-Out shooting?
What happened at the scene
Officers responded to the In-N-Out on Saturday afternoon after reports of an active shooter, according to a public safety update from the Twin Falls Police Department. Twin Falls city public information officer Josh Palmer confirmed three people had died and seven others were injured, with some in critical condition.
Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said a suspected shooter has died. It was not clear whether the shooter was being counted among the three dead.
Lynsey Snyderthe president of In-N-Out Burger, said a worker was among those killed.
