4 dead in Waffle House rampage
Suspect, 29, sought in Tennessee shooting arrested last year by Secret Service agents
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A nearly naked gunman wearing only a green jacket and brandishing an assault rifle stormed a Waffle House restaurant early Sunday in Nashville, shooting four people to death before a customer rushed him and wrestled the weapon away.
Authorities were searching for the suspect, Travis Reinking, 29, who they said drove to the restaurant and killed two people in the parking lot before entering and continuing to fire. When his AR-15 rifle either jammed or the clip was empty, the customer disarmed him in a scuffle.
Four people were also wounded before the gunman fled, shedding his jacket.
Nashville police Chief Steve Anderson said there was no clear motive, though Reinking may have “mental issues.”
He may still be armed, Anderson said, because Reinking was known to have owned a handgun that authorities have not recovered.
The AR-15 used in the shooting and the handgun were among four firearms that authorities took from Reinking after U.S. Secret Service agents arrested him in July for being in a restricted area near the White House, officials said.
Special Agent Todd Hudson said Reinking was detained after refusing to leave the restricted area, later explaining he wanted to meet President Donald Trump.
State police in Illinois, where Reinking lived until last fall, revoked his state firearms card at the request of the FBI and four weapons were taken from him, authorities said.
Reinking is originally from Morton, Ill.
Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said the firearms were returned to his father, who told authorities Sunday that he had given the weapons back to his son.
Authorities hailed the customer who intervened to stop a further bloodbath, James Shaw Jr., 29, as a hero — though the father of a 4-year-old girl deflected the praise and said he was just trying to survive.
Shaw told reporters he first thought the gunshots fired around 3:25 a.m were falling plates. He said when he realized what was happening, he took cover behind a door as shots shattered windows.
“I looked back and I saw a person lying on the ground right at the entrance of the door, then I jumped and slid ... behind a push door — a swivel door,” Shaw said. “He shot through that door; I’m pretty sure he grazed my arm. At that time I made up my mind that he was going to have to work to kill me. When the gun jammed or whatever happened, I hit him with the swivel door.”
He said it was then that they began wrestling. They cursed at each other as they scuffled, Shaw said, and he Shot-out windows mark where a gunman opened fire at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tenn. Reinking Shaw was able to grab the hot barrel of the AR-15 and toss it over a counter.
The gunman then ran away.
Authorities said the gunman shed his jacket nearby and police found two AR-15 magazines loaded with bullets in the pockets. He was seen walking, naked, on a road, officials said, but later was seen in pants after apparently returning to his apartment.
Another witness, Chuck Cordero, told local media outlets that he saw the suspect get out of his pickup and immediately begin shooting.
“When I saw him get out of his pickup truck, all he had on was his jacket. … No sock, no shoes, no underwear. Just a jacket and an assault rifle,” Cordero told Fox affiliate WZTV.
As Cordero hid under his car, he watched the gunman fire a few shots through the restaurant’s glass windows before he went inside, he said.
Cordero said Shaw saved lives.
“There was plenty more people in that restaurant,” he told the Tennessean newspaper.
Shaw’s right hand was bandaged at an afternoon news conference after suffering an apparent bullet graze on one elbow. He also fell and hit his knee, landing in the hospital for a time early Sunday. He added he didn’t see himself as a hero, but f eels certain he wouldn’t be alive if he hadn’t succeeded.
“I didn’t really fight that man to save everyone else. That may not be a popular thing,” said Shaw, who was raised in the area, attended Tennessee State University and works as a wireless technician for AT&T. “I took the gun so I could get myself out” of the situation.
But he said he was glad to save other lives as well.
At Sunday’s news conference, Waffle House CEO Walter Ehmer joined several l aw enforcement agents in thanking Shaw for his bravery.
“You don’t get to meet too many heroes in life,” Ehmer said before addressing Shaw, who dabbed at tears in his eyes. “We are forever in your debt.”
The dead were identified as customers Akilah Dasilva, 23; Deebony Groves, 21; Joe R. Perez, 20; and restaurant worker Taurean Sanderlin, 29. A police statement said Perez and Sanderlin were killed outside the restaurant, Groves was fatally shot inside, and Dasilva was critically wounded inside and later died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Aaron said two of the wounded were being treated for gunshot wounds at the medical center, where spokeswoman Jennifer Wetzel said one was in critical condition and the other was in critical but stable condition.
TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center spokeswoman Katie Radel in Nashville said two people were treated for minor injuries and released.
Aaron said Reinking lived near the restaurant, and police blocked public access to an apartment complex about a half-mile from the Waffle House.
Nashville Mayor David Briley described the shooting as “a tragic day” for the city.
“My heart goes out to the families & friends of every person who was killed or wounded,” Briley said in an emailed statement. “I know all of their lives will be forever changed by this devastating crime.”
Rep. Jim Cooper, DTenn., whose district includes Nashville, said the shooting shows the need for tighter restrictions on “widespread civilian access to military-grade assault weapons.”