An In-N-Out employee killed when a gunman opened fire at one of the restaurant chain’s newest establishments in Idaho over the weekend has been identified as a 23-year-old from from California, multiple media reports say.
Loved ones on social media identified Ashley Garibay, of Stockton, as one of three killed in the mass shooting at a recently opened Twin Falls In-N-Out on Saturday, Aug. 1, according to reporting from The Guardian.
“Oh my beautiful friend, my heart breaks seeing your pictures knowing they’ll just be memories now,” a loved one wrote on Facebook.
Garibay was in Idaho to help train employees at new restaurant
Garibay’s uncle told KCRA 3 that his niece had gone to In-N-Out’s newest location to train other employees.
In a statement shared on social media late Saturday, Lynsi Snyder, president of In-N-Out Burger, said her “heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed.”
“We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight. She was taking care of our most important asset – our Customers,” Snyder said.
Witnesses describe chaos as gunfire erupted near busy restaurant
Twin Falls police said they received multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired just before 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Hundreds of people were in and around a busy shopping plaza in Twin Falls when gunfire erupted at the In-N-Out, USA TODAY reported.
“It was a very chaotic scene,” Police Chief Matthew Hicks said at an Aug. 2 news conference.
Police on Sunday identified the suspect as Chad Williams, 24, who died by suicide.
Details surrounding the incident have been limited, as “investigators are continuing to review evidence, conduct interviews, and determine the full circumstances, including possible motivation,” police said.
Lane Koehn, who captured cellphone video of the incident, told KTVB-TV that he was waiting at a stop light when shots began ringing out and hit a car just feet in front of him.
Koehn said he saw the shooter at least 30 feet away, firing what looked like a semi-automatic rifle at people in their vehicles and through the restaurant’s drive-thru window. Then an armed bystander emerged and began firing at the shooter, Koehn told the outlet.
“We can confirm that an off-duty state trooper and a citizen returned gunfire toward the suspect. We commend their heroic actions, which we believe helped drive the suspect away from the scene and prevent further casualties,” police said.
Multiple agencies, including the Twin Falls Fire Department and Magic Valley Paramedics, responded to the In-N-Out, where they provided aid and transported victims to local hospitals, according to police.
How many people were killed and injured in the shooting?
As of Sunday, police said three people had died in the shooting, and seven more were injured. Two of the injured people have been treated and released from the hospital, while three other injured victims are in stable condition and two more are in critical condition
“These numbers are preliminary and may be updated,” police said. “Victim identities are not being released at this time out of respect for their families.”
Previous reporting from USA TODAY reporters N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Thao Nguyen, and Amanda Lee Myers contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: In-N-Out worker killed in Idaho shooting a Californian, reports say
Reporting by Daniella Segura, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Daniella Segura, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
