Twin Falls Hero Jordan Salinas Honored by Money Metals With Silver Bullet

On Friday evening, Money Metals presented Twin Falls hero Jordan Salinas with a plaque containing a 25-ounce pure silver bullet in recognition of his act of bravery and selflessness during the August 1 shooting at the Twin Falls In-N-Out Burger.

Salinas was recorded on video engaging the shooter, an action police credited—along with two other armed citizens who engaged the gunman—with potentially saving lives by diverting him away from the restaurant. The shooter eventually took his own life after killing three people and injuring several more.

Money Metals director Mike Gleason and Rep. Rob Beiswenger, who works for the company, presented the plaque to Salinas in a short ceremony at the Money Metals office in Eagle. Sen. Tammy Nichols and Rep. Josh Tanner were also present.

Gleason presented the plaque and silver bullet on behalf of everyone at Money Metals—and, he said, all Idahoans—praising Salinas for being prepared to exercise his Second Amendment rights in defense of others.

For his part, Salinas said that he “trained for the situation, not for the attention,” and added that the only nightmare he had since the incident was one in which his phone wouldn’t stop ringing. He was in Eagle on Friday on his way to meet with gun YouTuber Garand Thumb.

Salinas began training for the possibility of an active shooter situation after seeing news coverage of the 2021 shooting at Boise Town Square Mall, which killed two and injured four.

When asked about how that training prepared him for what happened in Twin Falls, Salinas pointed to what he called “stress inoculation”. Even intense training in a controlled environment cannot fully prepare someone for the chaos of a real life situation.

Salinas said he heard the first gunshot from across the street and immediately ran in that direction, assessing the situation as he approached. By the time he engaged the shooter, he said, he had a good idea of what was happening. He also identified a brick wall behind the shooter, giving him confidence that any shots he fired would not endanger anyone else.

Salinas said that he relied on the OODA Loop, a mental model developed by USAF Colonel John Boyd in the 1970s. The acronym stands for “observe, orient, decide, and act.” The idea is that in a rapidly developing situation, a person must continually process what is happening, determine how to response, make a decision, and act on it. The faster and more accurately someone can move through that loop, the better prepared they are to respond.

Although people have reached out to Salinas seeking training, he said he would rather point them toward the professionals who taught him. I had an opportunity to ask Salinas a question, and I chose to ask why he carries an FN Five-seveN—a somewhat unusual handgun chambered in the distinctive and relatively expensive 5.7×28mm cartridge that has become the subject of countless internet memes, including the one below from 4chan:

Salinas said his original reason for choosing the Five-seveN was considerably less tactical: He played Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell frequently as a teenager and thought the gun was cool. But after researching ammunition, he said he came to believe the cartridge offered some advantages, including armor-piercing ability while producing less over-penetration than some other defensive ammunition.

Salinas was also asked whether he was concerned about running afoul of Idaho law in the process of shooting back at the Twin Falls gunman. He said he wasn’t.

“I was putting some faith in Idaho, and I believed in it, and hoped it believed in me,” Salinas said.

After a short interview with Money Metals employees, Salinas was asked if he had anything else he wanted to add.

“Look out for each other,” he said. “Division is not the reality; we are more united than we aren’t.”

Money Metals is a sponsor of the Gem State Chronicle and invited me to attend Friday’s event. They did not review or direct this story in any way.

About Brian Almon

Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.

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