Employee among three killed in US shooting at fast-food restaurant in Idaho

An employee was among the three people killed in a shooting at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in the US state of Idaho, where police say the suspected shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Seven people were also injured in the shooting, which took place in the city of Twin Falls on Saturday afternoon.

The suspected shooter has been identified as 24-year-old Chad Williams, who authorities believe acted alone.

On Sunday, Police Chief Matthew Hicks praised an off-duty officer and citizen who fired at the shooter.

“We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties,” he said. “We want to take a moment and commend the actions of the off-duty officer and the citizen, and their heroic action to stop this incident.”

Hicks said that law enforcement is working to determine a possible motive in the attack and said that the family of the suspected attacker was cooperating with authorities. He warned against the spread of false claims and misinformation, noting that a man who had “no involvement in this incident whatsoever” had been falsely identified online as the attacker.

Of the seven people injured in the attack, police said on Sunday that two had been treated at a hospital and released, three were in stable condition, and two remained in critical condition.

“My heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed. We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight,” In-N-Out owner and president Lynsi Snyder said in a statement released early on Sunday via social media. “In-N-Out will be mourning with the families and praying for them as they tread through a very painful season.”

The names of the victims have not been released.

On Sunday, the FBI encouraged members of the public with videos or images related to the incident to share them with law enforcement.

“The FBI has set up a digital media tipline for the public to submit images and videos related to the shooting, which occurred in Twin Falls, Idaho, on August 1, 2026,” the federal agency’s Salt Lake City office said in a social media post.

Police who responded to the shooting found the body of the suspected gunman in an area near the restaurant, a spokesperson for the city said.

A witness, Lane Koehn, said he was at a stoplight near the restaurant when he saw someone armed with an AR-style rifle exit the drive-through and then be fired upon by a man with a pistol.

He also saw an employee drag a woman with a gunshot wound to the chest to safety, where they waited for paramedics.

“She was pretty bad off, but I don’t know. I hope she made it,” Koehn said.

The In-N-Out had opened just about a week earlier, on July 24, as part of the California-based company’s recent expansion to Idaho.

“We were trying to get as far as we could, and some angels let us in their car,” 40-year-old Nayeli Rodriguez, who was waiting inside the restaurant for food with her daughters when the attack began, told The Associated Press news agency. “I left my car there in the parking lot.”

Police Chief Hicks called the attack a “very chaotic scene” during a news conference on Saturday.

Idaho Senator Mike Crapo said he was “grateful for the swift response of Idaho’s first responders”.