When the bullets started flying at an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, it was not the police who first returned fire — it was an off-duty state trooper and an armed citizen who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Their quick thinking and willingness to engage an active shooter likely saved countless lives in what police are calling one of the most chaotic incidents the department has ever faced.
The suspected gunman, identified as 24-year-old Chad Williams, opened fire Saturday at the recently opened restaurant, killing an employee and a customer before turning his weapon on himself. But the death toll could have been far worse. According to Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks, the off-duty officer and armed citizen engaged Williams and returned fire, driving him away from the scene and preventing further casualties.
Three people died in the shootout, and seven others were wounded. Two of the injured have since been released from the hospital, while three remain in stable condition and two are still fighting for their lives in critical condition. Every one of those survivors owes a debt to the two armed Americans who refused to be victims.
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 during a Sunday news conference. We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties. That is putting it mildly. In an era where mass shooters often rack up double-digit body counts, this incident ended with three fatalities because good people were armed and ready.
The suspect was found dead near the restaurant from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities believe Williams acted alone, and the investigation is ongoing. What we know so far is that a young man walked into a crowded restaurant on a Saturday and started shooting indiscriminately. What we also know is that the Second Amendment worked exactly as intended — law-abiding citizens with firearms stopped a bad guy with a firearm.
This is the story the mainstream media does not want to tell. When a mass shooting happens, the coverage is wall-to-wall for days. When an armed citizen stops a mass shooting, it gets a brief mention if it gets mentioned at all. The narrative must be protected at all costs, even if that means ignoring the uncomfortable reality that guns in the hands of responsible Americans save lives every single day.
The In-N-Out shooting is a tragedy. Two innocent people lost their lives, and seven more will carry physical and emotional scars for years to come. But it could have been so much worse. Without that off-duty trooper and that armed citizen, we might be looking at a Uvalde-style body count. Instead, the shooter was driven away and forced to end his own rampage prematurely.
The left will use this incident to call for more gun control, as they always do. They will ignore the fact that California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, yet this shooter still obtained a weapon. They will ignore the fact that armed citizens stopped the carnage. They will ignore everything that does not fit their pre-existing narrative that disarming law-abiding Americans somehow makes us safer.
Here is the truth: evil people will always find ways to do evil things. The only question is whether good people will be equipped to stop them. In Twin Falls, Idaho, the answer was yes. An off-duty trooper and an armed citizen stood between a madman and more innocent victims. That is what the Second Amendment looks like in practice. That is what American heroism looks like in real life.
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