Police hunt killer of 4 at Nashville restaurant
NASHVILLE (AP) — Police are warning residents of a neighborhood here to watch out for a suspect in a Waffle House restaurant shooting that killed four people.
More than 80 Nashville police officers continued to search for Travis Reinking early yesterday, according to authorities. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol were also assisting in the manhunt as disturbing reports about the wanted man’s past behavior came to light.
He was also added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Top 10 Most Wanted list.
Police said Reinking was nearly naked, wearing only a green jacket and brandishing an assault-style rifle when he opened fire in the parking lot and then stormed the restaurant.
In addition to the four people killed, four others were injured. Police credit a quick-thinking customer who wrestled the gun away from the suspect for preventing more loss of life.
Metropolitan Nashville Police chief Steve Anderson said at a news conference that Reinking, 29, was last seen on Sunday around a wooded area near an apartment complex where he lived. Authorities said he could be armed and were not ruling out that he had left the area. He was believed to be wearing only pants and no shirt or shoes.
Anderson said there was no clear motive, although Reinking may have “mental issues.” He may still be armed, Anderson told a mid-afternoon news conference, because he was known to have owned a handgun that authorities have not recovered.
“He’s on foot,” Anderson said. “Unless he’s been picked up by a car, he would be fairly close. We don’t want to alarm people, but certainly, everybody should take precautions. It could be he’s in an unoccupied house. We want everybody to be concerned. Neighbors should check on each other.”