In-N-Out Burger’s president slammed the gunman who killed one of the chain’s workers during Saturday’s shooting in Idaho as “a disgusting human who doesn’t value the lives of others or his own.”
Lynsi Snyder said her “heart is broken” after the attack at the newly opened Twin Falls, Idaho, restaurant left two innocent people dead, including an In-N-Out associate, and several others wounded before the suspected shooter fatally shot himself.
“My heart is broken, my chest is heavy, my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed,” Snyder wrote in a statement.
“We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight. 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.”
“He shot both on our property and off, and ended his life shortly after he took the precious lives of our Associate and Customers, innocent people who never saw it coming,” Snyder added.
Snyder, whose grandparents first opened the burger joint in 1948, said the company would “be mourning with the families and praying for them” while also supporting employees and customers who witnessed the bloodshed.
“I love you all, and I ask you to turn to God, not in anger, but seeking comfort and strength for those who are hurting,” she wrote.
“We will stand together, and we will do everything we can to learn from this situation.”
The shooting erupted around 2 p.m. Saturday at the restaurant before spilling into the parking lot in what Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks described as a “very chaotic” scene.
A witness described seeing a man carrying what appeared to be an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru before another man, who was armed with a pistol, began firing at the madman, according to the Associated Press.
One In-N-Out employee dragged a wounded co-worker across the parking lot while others tried to help until paramedics arrived, according to the outlet.
Video captured from a nearby vehicle appeared to show the gunman moving through the parking lot before pointing a rifle toward the driver’s-side window of a blue Tesla and firing twice.
The shooter then lowered the weapon, moved away from the vehicle and ran across the lot with the firearm still in hand.
Authorities locked down nearby businesses and closed surrounding roads, while St. Luke’s Magic Valley asked people to avoid coming to the hospital unless they needed emergency care.
Jerome Police Chief Duane Rubink told CNN that “it appears there was one shooter who is deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot.”
Hicks said investigators were still working to confirm the final number of people injured as detectives interviewed hundreds of witnesses.
He said authorities were also working to identify the gunman and determine a motive.
The FBI is assisting local law enforcement.
The Twin Falls location had been open for just over a week, having welcomed its first customers on July 25.
It is one of several new In-N-Out restaurants in Idaho as the California-based burger chain continues expanding beyond its West Coast roots.
Snyder became president of In-N-Out in 2010 at age 27, taking over leadership of the family-owned business founded by her grandparents, Harry and Esther Snyder.
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