TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Two months after the mass shooting at the Twin Falls In-N-Out, one of the victims is finally home.
Terry Dudley spent 60 days in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities after he was shot during the August 1 attack. Now back in Twin Falls, he's sharing his story publicly for the first time.
Dudley was sitting at a Tesla charging station when authorities say gunman Chad Williams opened fire on people inside their vehicles.
"One minute I'm going down and the next minute I wake up in Boise," Dudley said.
He says he was struck by two bullets, suffering serious injuries to his spine and lung.
"I was shot twice in the back," Dudley said. "The second one went underneath the collarbone and into my lung."
Dudley was taken to St. Alphonsus Hospital, where he spent 30 days in a coma before transferring to rehabilitation facilities for another month of recovery. Throughout his hospital stay, he kept followers updated with videos and posts on social media.
Now back home and walking again, Dudley says recovery is far from over.
"It could probably be six months before I can walk without a walker and the tremors go away," he said.
Despite the challenges, Dudley says the support he has received from Twin Falls and beyond has been overwhelming.
"I got so many text messages and Facebook messages from people I didn't even know, it froze my phone up," he said.
City Preps for Community Mental Health Assistance
As victims continue to recover, the City of Twin Falls is preparing to launch additional mental health resources for the community. City spokesman Josh Palmer said officials surveyed residents to determine what support would be most helpful and have partnered with the National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA) to provide long-term services.
"Providing resources to people can't be within a one-week period," Palmer said. "It needs to be prolonged. It needs to be over the course of years."
Community members will also have a chance to support victims through the upcoming Magic Valley Strong Concert and Auction. Dudley says he hopes the community can turn tragedy into something positive as healing continues.
"I hope something good comes out of this," he said. "Turning tragedy into something positive. We've done it before."
The Magic Valley Strong Benefit and Auction is scheduled for Oct. 17 at the Stone House, with proceeds benefiting survivors and families impacted by the shooting.
- 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.
