Austin “AJ” Scott James heard the shots and ran straight at them. He was off duty that Saturday afternoon outside the brand-new In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls. Most folks ducked or scattered. He moved in.
His dad Marcus Scott later said the choice was pure instinct. AJ closed the distance on the gunman instead of getting clear. Bullets hit him hard. He went down with serious wounds that will need more than one surgery and a long stretch of rehab.
Connie, his wife, kept him alive right there on the ground. She tied off a tourniquet before the medics rolled up. Family still talks about how close it came.
Grandpa Larry James put it plain. AJ is third-generation law enforcement. Getting hurt while trying to stop the shooter fits the family line. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks backed that up. He said the off-duty officer and one armed civilian forced the gunman off the packed lot and kept the body count from climbing higher.
Three people did not make it home. Christopher “Toph” Claunch was one. An In-N-Out worker named Ashley was another. Seven more took rounds and landed in the hospital. The man who opened fire, 24-year-old Chad Williams, died from a gunshot he put in himself.
FBI agents are still on scene helping local detectives sort through video and witness talks. Twin Falls is still hurting. But people keep coming back to what AJ did when the noise started. He ran toward it so others might live.
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