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In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder said her “heart is broken” after an employee and customers were killed when a gunman opened fire at one of the burger chain’s newest restaurants in Idaho.
Three people were killed and seven others injured, some critically, in the Saturday afternoon shooting at the In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, city spokesperson Josh Palmer said. Police found the suspected gunman dead near the restaurant, though Palmer said it was not immediately clear whether the shooter was included in the city’s reported death toll.
“We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight,” Snyder said in a statement posted to Facebook. “She was taking care of our most important asset — our Customers, and her life was taken by a disgusting human who doesn’t value the lives of others or his own.”
Snyder said the gunman fired both on and away from In-N-Out property before ending his own life shortly after killing the employee and customers.
MULTIPLE PEOPLE KILLED IN SHOOTING AT IDAHO IN-N-OUT RESTAURANT, SUSPECT DEAD
“My heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed,” she wrote.
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Officials had not released the names, ages or other identifying details of the victims as authorities worked to notify their relatives.
Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said investigators were also working to identify the suspected shooter and determine a motive.
“We believe the threat to the community is over,” Hicks said during a news conference. “It was a very chaotic scene.”
GUNFIRE SHATTERS TORONTO LATIN STREET FESTIVAL, LEAVING AT LEAST 2 DEAD AND MULTIPLE WOUNDED
The shooting unfolded at about 2 p.m. in a busy shopping plaza where hundreds of people were in the area, according to Palmer.
Video recorded from across the street appeared to show a person dressed in black carrying a long rifle toward a white vehicle. The person opened the driver’s door and then the trunk before reaching inside, prompting the driver recording the scene to leave out of concern that the shooter might be retrieving additional weapons.
Multiple victims were taken to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center. A hospital spokesperson said the facility was working with law enforcement and emergency personnel as they responded to the shooting.
The restaurant first opened on July 24, barely a week before the attack, as part of In-N-Out’s expansion into the Gem State.
Snyder said the company would mourn alongside the victims’ families and support the employees and customers who experienced the violence.
“I am no stranger to loss, but this is so incredibly tough, and my heart also goes out to all of the Associates and Customers who were there during this traumatic event,” she said.
She urged the In-N-Out community to “turn to God, not in anger, but seeking comfort and strength for those who are hurting.”
“We will stand together, and we will do everything we can to learn from this situation,” Snyder added.
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The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting local authorities with the investigation.
Twin Falls, a city of roughly 56,000 residents, is about 130 miles southeast of Boise.
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