Authorities seek a motive in the mass shooting at an Idaho In-N-Out
Burger
[August 04, 2026]
By MICHAEL BIESECKER and DAVE COLLINS
A driver charging his electric taxi and a former law enforcement officer
who tried to intervene were among the seven people wounded in a mass
shooting at an Idaho fast food restaurant that also left three people
dead, according to friends and relatives of the two men.
The attack Saturday at a new In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls ended when
the gunman, identified by police as 24-year-old Chad Williams, shot and
killed himself. On Monday, police were still trying to determine why
Williams carried out the attack, which happened early in the afternoon
in a busy shopping plaza in the southern Idaho city.
Many details about Williams' life were still unknown Monday, but an
initial search of court records in Idaho and Arizona, where he used to
live, didn't show any criminal cases matching his name and birth date.
Man who knew gunman says he was ‘pretty chill’
Elijah Moseley, who lived across the hall from Williams in a College of
Southern Idaho dorm a few years ago, described him as “an introvert” and
“a pretty chill guy.”
“I was never scared or weirded out by him,” he said.
Moseley said he considered Williams a relatively close friend, though
they lost touch a couple of years ago.
“I’m shocked by this and sick to my stomach about this,” he said.
Detectives are confident that Williams acted alone, Police Chief Matthew
Hicks said Sunday, noting that Williams’ family is cooperating fully
with the investigation.
Two of the wounded victims were treated at a hospital and released,
three were listed as stable, and two others were in critical condition,
police said Sunday.
During the attack, an off-duty state trooper and a civilian fired on
Williams and diverted him from the restaurant, the chief said. Police
haven't disclosed their names or those of the victims, but some victims
have been identified by friends and relatives. Twin Falls spokesperson
Josh Palmer said Monday that police were still trying to identify next
of kin.
A vigil is planned for Tuesday evening at Twin Falls City Park, Palmer
said.
In-N-Out employee among those killed
The attack happened at an In-N-Out that opened late last month as part
of the California chain’s Idaho expansion, and an employee at the burger
joint was among those killed, the fast-food chain’s owner, Lynsi Snyder,
said in a statement. She didn't identify the worker.
Kimberley Castaneda confirmed to The Associated Press that her brother,
Christopher Claunch, was among those killed, but she declined to discuss
him further.
Garren Taylor, one of Claunch's friends, said that two years ago,
Claunch completed a rehab program for alcohol abuse at Renaissance Ranch
Recovery Center in Rupert, Idaho, and was immediately hired there.
Taylor said Claunch, known to those close to him as “Toph,” had since
then dedicated his life to helping others get sober.
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This image provided by KMVT shows the scene of a shooting that
started at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026 in
Twin Falls, Idaho. (KMVT via AP)
“He helped hundreds of people,” Taylor recalled Monday. “He was just
a gift to anyone he came in contact with. It wasn’t about the
paycheck, his attitude was: ‘I get to help someone today.’”
Renaissance Ranch declined to comment Monday.
Wounded man moved closer to gunfire to help
In a Facebook post, Marcus Scott said his son Austin “A.J.” Scott
was critically wounded in the attack and faces a long recovery. He
said his son was shot after he moved “toward the danger” when he
heard gunfire in an effort to protect others.
“We are incredibly thankful that God spared his life and that his
wife and friend were there to provide immediate care until he could
get to the hospital," he wrote.
Marcus Scott said in a message to the AP on Monday that his son used
to work as a law enforcement officer for the Twin Falls police and
the Idaho State Police. He declined to comment further on his son’s
actions, saying it is his son's story to tell.
Terry Dudley, a driver for North Star Taxi, was shot as he was
charging one of the company’s Teslas in a parking lot next to the
In-N-Out Burger, said James Palmer, who owns the taxi service and is
Dudley’s friend.
Palmer said Dudley called him to tell him he was shot after he
couldn’t get through to 911. He said Dudley was flown to a hospital
in Boise and remained there Monday with serious injuries, he said.
“It’s a lot, man,” Palmer said. “It’s daunting, to say the least, to
even try to gather the scope of all this. It’s been absolute chaos."
He said Dudley was “kind of like my right hand.”
Gunman left local college before graduating
Williams attended the College of Southern Idaho from August 2022 and
December 2023, according to the school's president, L. Dean Fisher.
He didn’t graduate or earn a certificate from the school, which has
about 10,000 students.
Williams served in the student senate but was unanimously impeached
by his fellow senators in February 2023. Moseley, who served as the
senate pro-tempore at the time, said Williams was ousted because he
wasn't very active or engaged in student government.
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Associated Press reporters Christopher Weber and Jamie Stengle
contributed to this report.
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