Jordan Salinas was not the person who fled the Twin Falls In-N-Out shooting without a cell phone, but the name belongs in the record of how the Ahern family learned their 24-year-old daughter was alive. They first saw a news alert on their phone, then waited until she could call from a friend's phone.
Nikki Ahern said the first call came through with crying and little else. "All she could get out [on the initial phone call] was 'mommy, mommy, mommy,' crying, 'mommy, I'm alive'" she said, describing the moment her daughter reached her after the gunfire.
West Covina learns from a news alert
The family said the call to action came from the alert, not from In-N-Out. Their 24-year-old daughter was part of an all-star team traveling from Southern California to Twin Falls, Idaho, to help train new associates as the new location opened.
Shots rang out around 2:30 p.m. local time on Saturday when a gunman entered the store. The daughter ran without her cell phone, leaving her parents without the direct line they expected if anything went wrong.
Nikki Ahern waits for a call
Nikki Ahern said the wait felt like "[It felt like] being powerless" while the family tried to piece together what was happening. Micheal Ahern said the daughter told them a co-worker had been shot, and that she still was without a cell phone after escaping.
The Twin Falls Police Department later said three people died and seven others were wounded. Chad Williams opened fire at the restaurant, and Lynsi Snyder said a female employee was one of those killed.
In-N-Out and the Aherns
The Aherns said In-N-Out failed to alert them to the active situation and did not provide crucial information while they were trying to find their daughter. Micheal Ahern said, "There's got to be a protocol" and added, "Like, you have an emergency contact list, right?"
Williams later turned the gun on himself and died. The family said their daughter was expected to return to Southern California on Monday, ending the immediate uncertainty but not the question of how parents should be reached when workers are scattered in an emergency.
