Jordan Salinas did not know that a Saturday lunch stop at an In-N-Out Burger would place him in the path of a mass murderer. But when rifle fire erupted outside the crowded Twin Falls, Idaho, restaurant, Salinas had something most of the people trapped there did not: a firearm, training, and the willingness to move toward the threat.
Salinas, 35, has come forward as the armed citizen who returned fire at a 24-year-old Chad Williams during the August 1 attack. An off-duty Idaho State Police trooper also engaged Williams.
Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said their return fire helped drive Williams away from the restaurant and prevented additional casualties. Twin Falls County Sheriff Jack Johnson went further, saying the two defenders “without a doubt saved many lives.” Williams later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Three innocent people were killed and seven others wounded.
A Lunch Stop Turns Into a Gunfight
According to Salinas’ detailed account to the Idaho Statesman, he and his girlfriend were heading out for a horseback-riding date when they stopped at the recently opened restaurant for lunch. Salinas initially saw people rushing out of the building and thought there might be a kitchen fire. Then he heard the unmistakable rhythm of gunfire. His response, he said, became “automatic” and “mechanical.”
Salinas drew a suppressed FN Five-seveN pistol from a shoulder holster and moved toward the shooting. Video from the scene shows him advancing cautiously behind signs and other available concealment while searching for the source of the gunfire. Near the drive-through, Salinas saw Williams shoulder a rifle and fire toward vehicles.
“OK, this is the guy,” Salinas recalled thinking.
He raised the pistol with both hands and fired. It was the first time, he told the Statesman, that he had pointed a firearm at a living target.
“He did not like it when bullets started firing both ways,” Salinas said.
Williams had been firing on people who could not effectively resist him. Once an armed citizen and an off-duty trooper began returning fire, the equation changed. The killer withdrew from the restaurant area. Salinas stopped engaging when responding officers arrived, recognizing that his role was finished and police were taking control.
Trained Because “It Could Happen Here”
Salinas is a healthcare worker and the full-time caregiver for his brother, who uses a wheelchair. He told the Statesman that he began taking firearms training more seriously after the 2021 Boise Towne Square mall shooting. That attack taught him an uncomfortable lesson: killers seek vulnerable people and supposedly safe public places.
A wheelchair user and the caregiver standing beside him could be precisely the kind of “soft targets” an attacker might select. Salinas therefore trained in the Idaho desert, practicing not merely how to fire a handgun but how to observe, orient, decide, and act under pressure.
“Everyone says, ‘It’s not going to happen here,’” he told the Statesman. “But what if it does?”
On Saturday, it did.
The Suppressed FN Five-seveN
The handgun Salinas carried was reportedly an FN Five-seveN equipped with a suppressor. A widely circulated copy of an October 2024 Facebook training post attributed to Salinas identified the pictured setup as an FN Five-seveN USG fitted with a Tactical Solutions Axiom suppressor and firing Vanguard 55-grain subsonic 5.7x28mm ammunition. That older post does not establish which ammunition or suppressor Salinas used during the August 1 confrontation.
Salinas’ earlier training post ended with words that now appear painfully prophetic:
“Train like your life depends on it. Because God forbid, one day it might.”
“There’s a Task That Needs to Be Done”
Salinas said he experienced no fear during the engagement. His training narrowed his attention to the immediate problem.
“There’s a task that needs to be done, and we’re the ones who need to do it,” he told the Statesman.
After his identity became public, Salinas posted on Facebook that the response had been overwhelming. He thanked family, friends, and strangers for their prayers and support, while directing attention back toward the victims and their families. He said he would provide a fuller account when he was able.
The right to keep and bear arms exists for moments exactly like this one. The Second Amendment does not promise that police will always arrive before innocent people are murdered. It protects the pre-existing right of the people to possess and carry the means of defense themselves.
Salinas and the off-duty trooper were already there. They were armed. They acted immediately.
When bullets began traveling in both directions, the killer retreated—and lives were saved.
About Duncan Johnson:
Duncan Johnson is a lifelong firearms enthusiast and unwavering defender of the Second Amendment—where “shall not be infringed” means exactly what it says. A graduate of George Mason University, he enjoys competing in local USPSA and multi-gun competitions whenever he’s not covering the latest in gun rights and firearm policy. Duncan is a regular contributor to AmmoLand News and serves as part of the editorial team responsible for AmmoLand’s daily gun-rights reporting and industry coverage.
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