Jordan Salinas Describes Returning Fire on Twin Falls Gunman After 3 Killed

Q: How does the active shooter incident near the Twin Falls In-N-Out connect to the nearby high-speed pursuit?

There is no confirmed public evidence that the active shooter incident near the Twin Falls In-N-Out was connected to the nearby high-speed pursuit. The In-N-Out shooting was reported Saturday near 1965 Blue Lakes Blvd. N., prompting road closures and an active police response, with the FBI assisting but local police retaining control. At the time of those reports, authorities had not released details about a suspect, victims, motive, or whether anyone had fled the scene in a vehicle. The high-speed pursuit described in related local coverage appears to come from a separate Twin Falls County case. In that incident, deputies responded to shots fired near a sugar factory and stockyard, then chased a suspect vehicle before it crashed and the driver fled on foot. Authorities later said that case appeared isolated and briefly issued, then lifted, a shelter-in-place order. Because the available reporting treats the pursuit as part of a different shooting investigation and officials have not publicly linked it to the In-N-Out incident, the safest reading is that they are separate events unless police later say otherwise. If a connection does emerge, it would likely come through law enforcement identifying the same suspect, vehicle, timeline, or crime scene evidence. As of the information provided, no such link has been announced.

Q: What crucial details about the armed suspect are authorities withholding as the FBI joins the investigation?

Authorities are withholding virtually all key identifying details about the armed suspect. As of the reports tied to the active shooter response near the Twin Falls In-N-Out, police had not released the suspect’s name, whether the person had been located or taken into custody, any physical description, the type of weapon involved, or a possible motive. Officials also had not disclosed whether anyone had been shot or injured, which leaves unclear whether the suspect acted alone, whether there were victims connected directly to the scene, and what prompted the FBI’s assistance beyond investigative support. Some online material refers to a separate Twin Falls County shooting in which police described an armed and dangerous 32-year-old white man and later identified a suspect as Jacob Bellus. But that appears to be a different incident involving reports near a sugar factory, a vehicle pursuit, and a shelter-in-place order. It should not be treated as confirmed identification in the In-N-Out active shooter case unless law enforcement explicitly links the two. So, the crucial details still being withheld in the In-N-Out investigation are the suspect’s identity, whereabouts, description, weapon, status, and motive.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 3

35-year-old Jordan Salinas told the Idaho Statesman his response was “automatic” and “mechanical” when he ran toward gunfire and fired at the Twin Falls In-N-Out attacker.
Police said Salinas and an off-duty officer diverted 24-year-old Chad Williams from the scene, helping prevent more casualties before he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Williams killed 3 people and wounded 7 at the recently opened restaurant; 2 victims were discharged from hospital, 3 were stable and 2 remained in critical condition.
Salinas, a full-time caregiver for his brother, said serious firearms training after a previous Boise mall shooting shaped his four-step response: observe, orient, decide and act.
The account landed amid a wider US debate over how bystanders should respond to mass shootings, with the Gun Violence Archive reporting at least 280 such incidents this year.