Braxton Stuebe, 17, Walked Up to the In-N-Out Gunman and Watched Him Start to Cry Before Being Shot At
Braxton Stuebe was 17 and working next door when he walked up to a man about to open fire. He talked to him, watched him start to cry, and heard him say “just get away from me, man.” Then the gunman turned and shot in his direction anyway.
Chad Williams, 24, killed three people at an In-N-Out in Twin Falls, Idaho, on the afternoon of August 1, then died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
Before that, Braxton Stuebe tried to reason with him. “The only thing I was really thinking was, don’t try and make any sudden movements, don’t try and run,” the 17-year-old told KMVT-TV. “Just hopefully talk to him and hopefully he can change his mind.”
He told Williams he had a family and would do anything he asked. “He started to like tear up a bit, it seemed like,” Stuebe said. “And kind of just got like emotional.” The gunman told him to get away in what Stuebe described as a stuttering voice, “like as if he was crying.” Williams fired at him, missed, and kept going.
Police have called Stuebe a hero. He described the encounter as a “terrifying and traumatic experience” and later wrote that his “heart is heavy for our community and for everyone whose lives were changed forever this past weekend.”
His mother, Aisha White, wrote on Facebook that she’ll never be able to “put into words” what her son witnessed. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks called the shooting “violent, frightening and deeply traumatic” on what should have been a “normal Saturday afternoon.” The motive remains unclear, and Williams’ family is cooperating with police.
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