Ashley Garibay, a 23-year-old from Stockton, California, has been identified as one of three people killed when a gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, a shooting that ended only after two armed civilians fired back.

Garibay was working at the restaurant on Saturday when Chad Williams, 24, emerged from the drive-thru area carrying what appeared to be an AR-style rifle and began shooting. The attack started inside the restaurant and spilled into the parking lot, killing three people and wounding several others. Williams, who police said was acting alone, was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks described the scene as "very chaotic." Two armed civilians in the parking lot returned fire at Williams, who retreated. One In-N-Out employee dragged a wounded co-worker across the parking lot while others tried to help until paramedics arrived, the New York Post reported, citing the Associated Press.

The second identified fatality, Cristopher Claunch, 59, was a customer. He had reportedly been thrilled to visit the restaurant for the first time since its July 24 opening. A third victim has not been publicly named. Police have not disclosed a motive.

Armed civilians confronted the shooter, and that detail matters

In a country where mass shootings routinely reignite the same exhausted policy arguments, the Twin Falls attack contains a fact that rarely makes it to the top of the coverage: two lawfully armed civilians engaged the gunman. Williams retreated after they fired back. Whether their intervention prevented additional casualties remains unclear, but the sequence is plain, the shooter advanced until someone shot back, and then he stopped advancing.

That reality sits uncomfortably with the political class that reflexively treats every mass shooting as an argument for disarming law-abiding citizens. The people who acted in that parking lot did not wait for a government response. They were already there, already armed, and they engaged a man with a rifle.

Meanwhile, the courage inside the restaurant was no less striking. At least one In-N-Out employee, unarmed, dragged a wounded co-worker to safety across the parking lot. Others stayed to help the injured until paramedics could arrive. These are the people who bear the weight of moments like this, workers, customers, bystanders forced into a nightmare by a single violent individual.

The shooting adds Twin Falls to a grim and growing list of American communities struck by mass violence. Just weeks earlier, a mass shooting at Seattle's Bite of Seattle food festival killed three and wounded four, underscoring how public gatherings, restaurants, festivals, open-air events, have become recurring targets.

Garibay's family and friends mourn a young woman who left California for Idaho

By Monday, friends and family had taken to social media to confirm what many had feared. Ashley Garibay, originally from Stockton, California, was among the dead. The source does not explain why she had relocated to Twin Falls, but she was working at the In-N-Out when the shooting began.

Her friend Alissa Juarez posted a tribute on Facebook:

"Oh my beautiful friend...my heart breaks seeing your pictures knowing they'll just be memories now."

Garibay's mother, Sabrina Garibay, changed her Facebook profile picture to an image of herself and her daughter smiling side by side. Comments poured in from people who had known Ashley since childhood.

One commenter wrote: "I remember when you were baby and you to come stay with me so mom could go to work. With your brother and sister. You have become a beautiful young lady. Rest in paradise mija." Another simply said: "Ashley you are so beautiful. You will be missed so much."

In-N-Out Burger President Lynsi Snyder issued a statement mourning the loss of what she called "one of our beautiful Associates." Snyder did not hold back about the man responsible.

"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 added that "IN-N-OUT will be mourning with the families and praying for them as they tread through a very painful season." Her statement also expressed concern for employees and customers who witnessed the attack, saying her "heart also goes out to all of the Associates and Customers who were there during this traumatic event."

Nine days after opening, a new restaurant became a crime scene

The Twin Falls In-N-Out Burger had opened just nine days before the shooting, on July 24. For a small Idaho city, the arrival of the popular California-based chain was an event. Cristopher Claunch, the 59-year-old customer killed in the attack, had gone to the restaurant for the first time since its opening. He did not leave alive.

That a brand-new restaurant in a mid-size Idaho city could become the site of a mass killing speaks to the randomness that makes these events so difficult to prevent through policy alone. Williams had no known connection to any of the victims, and police have offered no explanation for why he chose that location or that day.

Gun violence has continued to plague communities of every size across the country. In Chicago, a single recent weekend saw at least 11 wounded and two killed in separate shootings, a grim reminder that the problem extends far beyond any one incident or any one city.

And the violence is not limited to strangers. In Florida, a Fort Myers man recently confessed to shooting his own mother and burning her body, a case that shocked even seasoned investigators.

Questions the public still deserves answers to

Several critical facts remain unknown. Police have not named the third person killed. The exact number of wounded has not been disclosed beyond "several." No motive has been released. It is unclear whether Williams was struck by the armed civilians' return fire before he took his own life, or where precisely he was found dead.

Garibay's connection to Twin Falls, why a 23-year-old from Stockton, California, was living and working in southern Idaho, has not been explained publicly. Her family's social media posts suggest she had siblings, but no further details about her personal circumstances have emerged.

Whether the two armed civilians who confronted Williams will be publicly identified or recognized remains to be seen. Their willingness to act under fire almost certainly changed the outcome of that afternoon, even if the full picture is not yet clear.

Ashley Garibay went to work on a Saturday afternoon at a restaurant that had been open for nine days. She was 23 years old, serving customers, doing her job. The people who failed her were not the ones carrying lawful firearms in that parking lot, they were the ones who keep insisting that disarming the law-abiding is the answer.