The Twin Falls County sheriff is praising the actions of two armed citizens and an off-duty police officer who confronted a gunman during Saturday's mass shooting at In-N-Out.Sheriff Jack Johnson said the three individuals acted selflessly and helped stop the shooter before the first deputies arrived on scene."These people are true heroes in our community, and their actions diverted the shooter and no doubt saved many lives," Johnson said. WATCH | Sheriff praises actions of armed citizens in Saturday's shooting Sheriff praises armed response to Twin Falls In-N-Out shootingJohnson said that by the time the first deputies arrived, all three armed individuals had already lowered their weapons. Because of the ongoing investigation, he said he could not share many additional specifics."We have hero citizens in our community that step up and do the right thing, and then these gentlemen, all three of them, did and undoubtedly saved lives," Johnson said.One of the armed citizens, Jordan Salinas, has since spoken publicly about confronting the shooter, inspiring the phrase "Idaho Shoots Back.""When those first shots broke at him, he had no idea," Salinas said.Johnson also addressed whether people who choose to carry a firearm should seek training for emergencies like the one that unfolded Saturday."We are a Second Amendment state. I'm a Second Amendment supporter. Every citizen has a right to be armed. However, if you're going to use that firearm in defense of yourself or others, it's a great idea to have some additional training to help you if you end up in that situation," Johnson said.Todd Eccles teaches enhanced concealed carry classes at his business, Patriot Defense, in Buhl, and said he agrees training is important."But the class is not required to carry in Idaho, but I think it's very important. I think if you're gonna be a responsible gun owner, I think that's the way that you need to go," Eccles said.Eccles said his classes cover firearm safety, shooting fundamentals, grip, trigger press, sight picture, stance, and defensive mindset including the psychological and physiological realities of using a firearm in a life-threatening situation."We go over like defensive mindset, kind of what you might experience in a situation, God forbid you ever have to use your firearm, like what you might go through psychologically, physiologically, all that stuff cause it's important stuff to know," Eccles said.Eccles said part of the coursework also focuses on the decision of when to engage and the serious consequences that come with it."When do you engage? And we have people they're like, ' Oh, I got a gun. I'm gonna engage. That's all. I'm gonna put myself in the middle of everything.' Yeah, but there's a ramifications, and you really need to think about those ramifications long and hard," Eccles said.This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less