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This is a developing story. It will be updated as officials release verified information.
TWIN FALLS — At least three people were killed and two others wounded Saturday afternoon in a shooting that began inside the In-N-Out Burger on Blue Lakes Boulevard North, drawing law enforcement from across southern Idaho and shutting down the Perrine Memorial Bridge for hours. The suspected gunman is dead, police said.
Twin Falls city spokesman Josh Palmer told CBS News and NBC News that three people were killed and two were wounded, and that the shooting began inside the restaurant. At an evening news conference, Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks declined to confirm a casualty count, saying he did not yet know precisely how many people had been killed or hurt and that officials were still notifying next of kin.
“We believe the threat to the community is over,” Hicks said, according to the Associated Press. He said the suspected shooter died at the scene, described the response as chaotic, and said the shooter’s identity and motive remain under investigation.
The response
Twin Falls Police Lt. Steven Gassert said the first 911 call came in at 2:29 p.m., according to KTVB. Officers from Twin Falls, Buhl and Jerome police departments responded alongside Idaho State Police troopers, Twin Falls Fire Department crews, Rock Creek Fire and Magic Valley Paramedics, KMVT reported from the scene.
Hicks said hundreds of people were in or near the shopping center at the time and that investigators expect to interview all of them. Police closed roads across the Blue Lakes corridor and shut the Perrine Memorial Bridge — the main link between Twin Falls and Interstate 84 — during the active response. Palmer said Saturday evening that roads were reopening and that a shelter-in-place order had been lifted.
Conflicting early counts
Casualty figures varied in the first hours, as they commonly do in incidents of this kind. Twin Falls County Commissioner Brent Reinke told the Associated Press that Sheriff Jack Johnson had told him five people were hurt, an account relayed before the police news conference. Police have not publicly reconciled the differing figures, and have not said whether the suspected gunman is counted among the reported dead.
Why Idaho News is withholding names and images
Video and still images said to show the gunman have spread widely on social media since Saturday afternoon. Idaho News is not publishing or describing that material and is not naming anyone as a suspect until law enforcement confirms it. KMVT, which had reporters on scene, has taken the same position. Misidentification in the first hours of a mass-casualty incident does lasting damage to people with no connection to it.
Victim names are being withheld as well. Officials said next-of-kin notifications were still underway Saturday evening.
Hospital and business impact
St. Luke’s Magic Valley asked the public to avoid the medical center unless they had an emergency, noting its Emergency Department remained open. Spokesperson Taylor Marschner said the system was coordinating with law enforcement and emergency responders.
The Magic Valley Mall closed and people inside were told to shelter in place during the active response, NBC News reported. The Twin Falls Chick-fil-A closed for the remainder of the day.
A location open eight days
The restaurant is In-N-Out’s fourth Idaho location and opened July 24, according to a company release cited by NBC News. Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick said the company was “heartbroken” in a statement Saturday.
The shooting occurred in one of the busiest commercial districts in southern Idaho, a stretch of national retailers, hotels, restaurants and a movie theater complex that draws both Magic Valley residents and travelers off I-84. Twin Falls, a city of roughly 56,000 about 130 miles southeast of Boise, is the regional hub for much of the southern half of the state.
State response
Gov. Brad Little asked Idahoans to keep the Twin Falls community in their prayers and urged the public to stay clear of the area and follow law enforcement direction. Attorney General Raúl Labrador said Idaho State Police, fire crews and paramedics were working with Twin Falls police to secure the scene.
What is still unknown
As of Saturday evening, authorities had not released a confirmed death toll, the names of the victims, the identity of the suspected gunman, or any indication of motive. Hicks said investigators expect to answer those questions in the coming days and asked anyone with information, video or photographs to contact the Twin Falls Police Department.
Reporting compiled from the Associated Press, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, KTVB, KMVT, Boise State Public Radio and statements from the Twin Falls Police Department, the Office of Gov. Brad Little, the Office of the Attorney General, St. Luke’s Health System and In-N-Out Burger. Idaho News did not have a reporter on scene.
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