Waffle House shooter arrested

The mentally unstable gunman suspected of killing four people in a latenight shooting at a Waffle House restaurant was arrested near his apartment Monday after hiding from police for more than a day, authorities said.

Police and federal agents had mounted a massive manhunt in Nashville for 29-year-old Travis Reinking after the Sunday morning attack, in which a gunman clad only in a jacket opened fire with an assault rifle on a diverse crowd at the restaurant before a customer disarmed him.

Reinking was formally charged late Monday with four counts of criminal homicide and held on a $2-million bond, court records show.

Construction workers told officers earlier Monday that a person matching Reinking’s description walked into the woods near a construction site, Metro Nashville Police Department Lt. Carlos Lara told reporters. A detective spotted Reinking, who lay down on the ground to be handcuffed when confronted, Lara said

Reinking carried a black backpack with a silver semi-automatic weapon and .45-calibre ammunition, Lara said. Detectives cut the backpack off him while he was cuffed.

Police spokesman Don Aaron said Reinking requested a lawyer and was taken to a hospital before being booked into custody.

It’s not clear why Reinking attacked shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday, though he may have “mental issues,” Nashville police Chief Steve Anderson said earlier.

Police said Reinking opened fire in the restaurant parking lot before storming the restaurant, which had about 20 people inside. Four people — three of them black and one Hispanic — were killed and four others injured before a customer wrestled the weapon away and Reinking, who is white, ran out, police said.