Manhunt underway for Waffle House suspect Travis Reinking

Bryan Llenas reports from New York

Nashville public schools are going into "lock-out" mode on Monday as authorities intensify the search for a gunman who police said opened fire in a Waffle House restaurant early Sunday, killing four before a customer wrestled the weapon away.

Travis Reinking, 29, who was naked during the shooting except for a green jacket and assault rifle, may have “mental issues,” authorities said. He owns a handgun that authorities have not recovered, Steve Anderson, the Nashville Police chief, said.

More than 80 Nashville officers are joined by officers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the FBI and ATF. Reinking was also added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Top 10 Most Wanted list.

"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."

Search continuing for accused quadruple murderer Travis Reinking. More than 80 MNPD officers are joined this evening by our partners from the THP, FBI & ATF. See Reinking? Please call 615-862-8600 immediately. One of his guns, a pistol, remains unaccounted for. pic.twitter.com/RELswfuFc8

— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) April 22, 2018

Police believe that he got home and grabbed a pair of pants.

He was last seen on Sunday around a wooded area near an apartment complex where he lived. Metro Nashville Police said early Monday that officers continue the search in the Antioch area, but there have been no credible sightings of Reinking. All schools in the area have been cleared by officers, according to police.

THE SHOOTING

Reinking drove to the busy restaurant and killed two people in the parking lot before entering and continuing to fire, police said. 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, throwing off his jacket.

The dead were identified as 29-year-old restaurant worker Taurean C. Sanderlin, and restaurant patrons Joe R. Perez, 20, Akilah Dasilva, 23, and DeEbony Groves, 21.
victims waffle house

From top to bottom, left to right: DeEbony Groves, Joe Perez, Akilah DaSilva and Taurean Sanderlin were killed on Sunday after a gunman opened fire at a Waffle House in Antioch, Tennessee. (Facebook)

A police statement said Sanderlin and Perez were killed outside the restaurant, Groves was fatally shot inside, and Dasilva was critically wounded inside and later died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

WAFFLE HOUSE SHOOTING VICTIMS INCLUDE 'BRILLIANT' COLLEGE STUDENT, ASPIRING RAPPER

Authorities 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.

Authorities hailed the customer who intervened to stop a further bloodbath, 29-year-old James Shaw, Jr., as a hero — though the father of a 4-year-old girl demurred and said he was just trying to survive.

James Shaw Jr. was was grazed by a bullet on his elbow.

Police said Reinking shed his jacket nearby and police found two AR-15 magazines loaded with bullets in the pockets.

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.”

TROUBLED PAST

U.S. Secret Service agents arrested Reinking last 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, saying he wanted to meet President Donald Trump.

State police in Illinois, where Reinking lived until last fall, subsequently revoked his state firearms card at the request of the FBI and four guns were then taken from him, including the AR-15 used in Sunday’s shooting as well as a handgun, authorities said.
Police continue search for suspect in deadly Waffle House shooting; Bryan Llenas shares an update.

Sheriff Robert Huston in Tazewell County, Illinois, said deputies allowed Reinking’s father to take possession of the guns on the promise that he would “keep the weapons secure and out of the possession of Travis.”

Huston added that, based on past deputies’ encounters with Reinking, “there’s certainly evidence that there’s some sort of mental health issues involved.”

While Huston said it was unclear how Reinking reclaimed the guns, Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said that his father “has now acknowledged giving them back to his son.”

Phone calls to a number listed for the father, Jeffrey Reinking, went unanswered.
Police tape blocks off a Waffle House restaurant Sunday, April 22, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. At least four people died after a gunman opened fire at the restaurant early Sunday.(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Police tape blocks off a Waffle House restaurant Sunday, April 22 in Tennessee. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Authorities said Reinking had been employed in construction and lived near the restaurant, and police used yellow crime scene tape to block public access to an apartment complex about a half-mile from the Waffle House. Reinking is originally from Morton, Illinois.

“This is a very sad day for the Waffle House family,” the company said in a statement on Twitter. “We ask for everyone to keep the victims and their families in their thoughts and prayers.”

Police reports filed in Illinois showed past run-ins with authorities there.
Bullet holes are seen at a Waffle House after a fatal shooting in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville, Sunday, April 22, 2018. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean via AP)

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/04/23/nashville-schools-in-lock-out-mode-as-manhunt-intensifies-for-waffle-house-shooting-suspect.html

: Have you noticed the leftist media screeches, the gun
: controllers freaking out and BLM uproar about the WHITE
: naked gunman who killed 4 and wounded 4 more including
: BLACKS at the TN waffle house--and USING that demonic
: AR-15?

: Yeah...I thought so. I haven't either...

: I looked and searched and the only thing I found was an AJ
: link which said "Police are still searching for a
: gunman who killed four people in a Waffle House restaurant
: in Tennessee."

: that's it. No details. Previously there was a story about how
: he was arrested in DC near the WH a month or so ago. He was
: relieved of his weapons by the FBI, and set free by a DC
: judge.

: The FBI says his weapons were given to his "dad",
: who obviously gave them back to him.

: Is this strange or what?

: To make matters worse, big brother can't locate him. In
: several days. For that I call BS..BB can find ANYONE,
: ANYTIME, ANYWHERE...if they want to, and anyone with an IQ
: above room temperature (celsius) knows it.

: Something strange here, indeed. He must be under deep state
: control because NO ONE, absolutely NO ONE caught in DC with
: guns gets them back, and is set scot-free in a couple of
: weeks.

: Conclusion: We have not heard the last of this fellow.