Hundreds mourn victims of Idaho In-N-Out shooting at candlelight vigil

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Hundreds gathered in Twin Falls, Idaho, to mourn three victims of a mass shooting at In-N-Out on Saturday.
City Councilman Grayson Stone emphasized community healing at the candlelight vigil.
Joseph Bosteder led the crowd in "Amazing Grace" to offer solace and unity.

TWIN FALLS — Hundreds of people gathered together to mourn three people who lost their lives in the mass shooting in Magic Valley.

On Tuesday night, a crowd of people filled up Twin Falls City Park for a candlelight vigil, gathering around a memorial dedicated to the three victims who lost their lives in the recent In-N-Out shooting. The vigil only saw one person take the stage to address the crowd, who emphasized the importance of the gathering.

"There is nothing I can say right now to help heal us, except for us to be with each other. This is how we heal our community, right here, right now," said City Councilman Grayson Stone, who assisted in organizing the vigil.

The crowd at the memorial for the victims of the In-N-Out shooting at the Twin Falls City Park in Idaho, Tuesday. City Councilman Grayson Stone was the only speaker at the vigil. (Photo: Logan Ramsey, EastIdahoNews.com)

On Saturday afternoon, a gunman, who has been identified by authorities as 24-year-old Chad Williams, opened fire at the newly opened In-N-Out restaurant in the area of Canyon Park West, one of Twin Falls' busiest commercial areas.

By the time the shooting ended, with Williams dying by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said, seven people had been injured, and three victims were dead.

Police have since identified the deceased as Ashley Garibay, 23, of Stockton, California, Dale Schultz, 66, of Salt Lake City, and Christopher Claunch, 59, of Hagerman, Idaho.

Hundreds of people filed into a line stretching past the park's stage into the grass, where they eventually walked past a variety of candles and flowers before paying their respects. To honor these three victims, the organizers of the vigil set up three crosses, each with a blue heart with their name on it, where mourners could write a message of comfort for the deceased and their loved ones.

Two men embrace while waiting in line at the memorial for the victims of the In-N-Out shooting at Twin Falls City Park in Idaho, Tuesday. Three people were killed, including the gunman, and seven more were injured in the shooting. (Photo: Logan Ramsey, EastIdahoNews.com)

EastIdahoNews.com waited to interview Larae Saufley, a Twin Falls resident and a director of the Magic Valley 9/11 Memorial, while she spoke with one of the victim's family members. Saufley explained some of the words of comfort she offered the family member.

"That they're not alone. That we will be with them. We mourn with them. We mean to lift them and to comfort them in every way that we can, in ways that they need," Saufley said.

Candles at the candlelight vigil for the victims of the In-N-Out shooting at the Twin Falls City Park in Idaho, Tuesday. Many religious leaders also attended the vigil. (Photo: Logan Ramsey, EastIdahoNews.com)

Pastor Chuck Swoboda of the Twin Falls Reformed Church attended the vigil, along with many other local religious leaders, and explained why he felt it was more important to be present and mourn as a community than to try and offer healing words.

"This is just so hard, and quite honestly, it sucks, and I'm not sure how you bring words of healing to that. And so the Bible says to mourn with those who mourn, and I think the best way of bringing healing is beginning by mourning together," Swoboda said.

People continue to wait to see the memorial for the victims of the In-N-Out shooting as it gets dark at the Twin Falls City Park in Idaho, Tuesday. Many religious leaders also attended the vigil. (Photo: Logan Ramsey, EastIdahoNews.com)

And while words alone can't heal the wounds inflicted on the community by Saturday's deadly violence, one resident offered a healing song. During the vigil, a man began to sing "Amazing Grace," and led the crowd in a rendition of the song.

EastIdahoNews.com located the singer in the crowd and interviewed him about why he decided to start singing.

"This is going to sound cliché," replied Joseph Bosteder, a Twin Falls resident. "I just had this immense feeling that we needed something else. I love what was put together, but the feeling just came upon me to sing."

Before the song began, Bosteder spoke with some of the organizers, who liked the idea. While many in the crowd didn't know all of the words and thus went in and out of singing, he finished the song.

Joseph Bosteder leads the crowd in "Amazing Grace" at the vigil for the victims of the In-N-Out shooting at the Twin Falls City Park in Idaho, Tuesday. Bosteder spoke with organizers about the singing before it occurred. (Photo: Logan Ramsey, EastIdahoNews.com)

Bosteder said he never knew that deadly violence like what took place on Saturday would find its way to the Twin Falls community.

"It boggles my mind that it is here, and quite frankly, it boggles my mind that it's anywhere," Bosteder said.

While he said he supports people carrying guns and praised Jordan Salinas and the off-duty officer who engaged the gunman, he emphasized how important it is to find a solution to prevent violence like this from taking place again.

A group of men pray at the candlelight vigil for the victims of the In-N-Out shooting at the Twin Falls City Park in Idaho, Tuesday. Three people were killed, including the gunman, and seven more were injured in the shooting. (Photo: Logan Ramsey, EastIdahoNews.com)

"We should do more for mental health and the things that matter. Putting something (in place) to prevent this type of situation from occurring (again) is important to me, and I think it is very important to the entire nation. This cannot keep happening," Bosteder said.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.