good samaritan hailed as 'hero' for firing at in-n-out mass shooter: 'saved many lives'
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dramatic video obtained by tmz shows good samaritan jordan salinas firing upon idaho in-n-out gunman chad williams during the deadly mass shooting in twin falls on saturday afternoon.
the clip, originally shot by lane koehn via storyful, shows salinas pointing his weapon and then firing while behind a white vehicle outside the in-n-out and then ducking when gunfire is returned.
turns out salinas, according to the new york post via the idaho statesman, had been training for this scenario after witnessing the 2021 mass shooting at the boise towne square mall, in which two people were killed.
the healthcare worker and the full-time caregiver of his wheelchair-bound brother said he noticed the boise gunman deliberately went after “soft targets,” of which he and his sibling, michael, would qualify.
healthcare worker jordan salinas (r) with his wheelchair-bound brother michael (l)for whom he is his main caregiver (jordan salanis/facebook)
jordan salanis/facebook
salinas, 35, pulled into the in-n-out with his girlfriend and saw a large crowd rushing out of the restaurant’s exit doors which he originally thought was due to a kitchen fire until he heard the pop of gunfire.
salanis then instinctively drew his semi-automatic pistol and raced towards the sound of the gunfire and spotted williams standing by the drive-thru, saw him raise a rifle to his shoulder and start firing toward vehicles.
“ok, this is the guy,” he thought before he raised his pistol with both hands and squeezed off a round — the first time he ever aimed his weapon at a living target.
“he did not like it when bullets started firing both ways,” salinas told the idaho statesman.
twin falls county sheriff jack johnson said williams was now in the cross-hairs of both salanis and an off-duty cop who was an in-n-out customer and left his drive-thru location and moved towards the open parking lot at the twin falls visitor centre.
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williams later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound while three people were killed and seven others wounded, but police belive the toll could have been much higher without the involvement of salanis and the off-duty cop.
“these people are true heroes in our community,” johnson said of the two men who returned fire. “they diverted the shooter and without a doubt saved many lives.”
salanis thanked those who reached out to him
salinas later thanked his supporters on his facebook page he received in an “overwhelming” 24 hours since he was identified as the good samaritan.
“i want to sincerely thank my family, friends, and everyone who has reached out with messages, prayers, and support,” he wrote. “i haven’t been able to respond to everyone yet, but please know i’ve seen your messages, and they mean more to me than i can put into words. in the coming days, i’ll share a more complete account of what happened, to the best of my recollection, when i’m able. for now, my heart remains with the victims, their families, and everyone affected by yesterday’s tragedy. thank you for continuing to keep them in your thoughts and prayers, and thank you all for the incredible support you’ve shown me and my family.”
meanwhile, williams, 24, was identified as the mass shooter, twin falls police chief matthew hicks said at a news conference sunday, according to the new york post.
mass-shooter used a rifle and acted alone: cops
williams, who appeared to be armed with an ar-style rifle, began opening fire at the restaurant around 2 p.m. before moving out the parking lot in what hicks called “a very chaotic” scene.
williams acted alone, and his family has been fully cooperative in the investigation.
“their hearts are also broken at this time,” hicks said of williams’s family.
an employee at the fast-food chain was among the dead, in-n-out burger’s president lynsi snyder said in a statement, while the two other victims have yet to be identified.
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among the seven wounded was twin falls taxi driver terry dudley, a widower and father of four, who was shot twice in the back as he charged his tesla, according to gofundme set up by his co-worker to help with his medical expenses.
“there are very few people in this world like terry,” said the co-worker in a statement. “he is the kind of man who quietly puts others before himself, who works hard, loves deeply, and never hesitates to lend a helping hand.”
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