Brave diner takes out naked shooter
THE naked suspect in the Waffle House shooting in Tennessee had a previous run-in with the law at the White House.
Travis Reinking, 29, last night remained on the run after shooting four people dead at the Nashville restaurant on Sunday (local time).
A Secret Service agent said Reinking was arrested last July outside the White House complex after he had hoped to talk to President Donald Trump.
Special Agent Todd Hudson said Reinking “wanted to set up a meeting with the President”.
Mr Hudson says Reinking tried to cross bike racks near the White House grounds that were part of security barriers. Reinking was asked to leave the restricted area and, when he declined, Mr Hudson says he was arrested on a charge of unlawful entry.
Mr Reinking, who is from Morton, Illinois, was released and was later interviewed by the FBI and authorities in Tazewell County, Illinois.
Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said Reinking’s firearms authorisation was revoked at the request of the FBI, and four weapons were seized, including the AR-15 that he allegedly used in the shooting at the Waffle House restaurant.
Mr Aaron says the four guns were returned to the suspect’s father, who acknowledged giving them back to his son.
Eyewitnesses said Reinking opened fire outside the restaurant before making his way inside.
James Shaw Jr, a customer who wrestled a gun away from Reinking, said that if he were going to die, the gunman would “have to work to kill me”.
Police are calling Mr Shaw a hero for saving lives in the busy restaurant.
The 29-year-old Nashville resident said he and another friend were seated at a high counter when he heard gunshots.
Mr Shaw said he had just seen restaurant workers stacking up freshly washed plates and thought at first that plates had crashed down.
Then, he said, restaurant workers scattered and he turned and saw a body near the front door as the gunman burst in. It was then he realised he had heard gunshots and said he made a split-second decision to save himself from being killed and wrestled with the gunman to just “grab the hot barrel of the gun”.
“I grabbed it from him and threw it over the counter top and I just took him with me out the entrance,” he said.
Mr Shaw then ran one way and saw the suspect jogging or trotting another way. He said he didn’t see himself as a hero. The police are still looking for Reinking.