In-N-Out worker killed in shooting at newly opened Idaho restaurant traveled to open stores
One of the three people killed when a gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger had traveled to Idaho to help expand the restaurant chain.
Ashley Garibay was tapped to train new employees away from Stockton, California, where she was based. Her family said she loved her work and called her an “amazing, beautiful soul who loved living life.”
“She was adventurous, outgoing, smart and driven, never letting obstacles get in her way,” her family said in a statement Tuesday. “She lit up a room with her bright smile and a laugh that was contagious.”
Police have not yet said what led the gunman, identified by police as 24-year-old Chad Williams, to open fire Saturday afternoon at the Twin Falls restaurant. The attack ended when Williams shot and killed himself. Police said they are confident Williams acted alone.
Twin Falls police Lt. Steven Gassert said Tuesday that he expected more details to be released later in the day. He didn’t elaborate further.
A candlelight vigil was planned Tuesday night at Twin Falls City Park, and police have opened a center where those who were affected by the shooting could get support and request or collect personal items left at the scene. Flags in the city will be at half-staff until next week.
The In-N-Out location opened in late July as part of the California chain’s Idaho expansion. Garibay got her first job at one of the restaurants, and she dreamed of one day managing one of the stores, her family said.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene in and around the Idaho restaurant as shots were fired. One customer told the AP she and her daughters were waiting inside when she heard shots from the kitchen and an employee told her to get down. Another woman and her mother were waiting in the drive-thru line when they saw people running across the road and workers bolting out of the restaurant as a man directing traffic told them there was a shooter.
A man who was at a stoplight near the restaurant described seeing a person with an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru and a man with a pistol start firing toward the suspect.
During the attack, an off-duty state trooper and a civilian fired on Williams, diverting him from the restaurant, police have said. Police haven’t released the identities of any of the victims, but family and friends identified Garibay and Christopher Claunch as among those killed.
One of Claunch’s friends, Garren Taylor, said Claunch completed a rehab program for alcohol abuse at Renaissance Ranch Recovery Center in Rupert, Idaho, a couple of years ago and was immediately hired there. Taylor said Claunch, known to those close to him as “Toph,” dedicated his life to helping others get sober.
“He helped hundreds of people,” Taylor said 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.’ ”
Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle contributed to this report.
