A deadly attack and a narrow escape
A 17-year-old Dick’s Sporting Goods employee who came face to face with the In-N-Out gunman has described the words he says helped spare his life. Police say 24-year-old Chad Williams opened fire at an In-N-Out last Saturday, killing three people and injuring several others. Video from the scene showed surviving bystanders running and screaming in the parking lot as the attack unfolded. Williams later turned down a nature trail, where authorities say he fatally shot himself.
Police release video from the scene
On Friday, police released video footage from the incident, including a compilation of surveillance clips and body camera footage. One part of the footage showed Williams encountering Braxton Steube, who had helped customers leave the nearby Dick’s Sporting Goods store through the back to get away from the danger. Steube then found himself facing the armed attacker directly, in the kind of moment no teenager, employee, or customer should ever have to handle.
Steube says a plea changed the moment
In an interview with KMTV on Saturday, Steube said he told Williams, “I have a family.” He said he also told him, “You don’t have to do this. I’ll tell you whatever you want. I’ll do anything.” According to Steube, Williams appeared to become emotional. “He started to like tear up a bit,” Steube said. He added that Williams told him, “Just get away from me, man,” in a stuttering voice that sounded as if he was crying.
The gunman walked away
Steube said Williams fired in his direction but missed, then continued down the trail. The encounter ended without Steube being killed, though the attack had already taken multiple lives and left several people injured. Jordan Salinas, described as one of the armed bystanders who returned gunfire during the shooting, also spoke on camera last week about his own encounter with the gunman.
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