Nashville
— The mentally unstable gunman suspected of opening fire at a Waffle House
restaurant in the middle of the night was arrested not far from his apartment on
Monday after hiding from police for more than a day following the attack that
killed four people, authorities said.
Authorities had mounted a massive
manhunt for 29-year-old Travis Reinking, after the Sunday morning attacks, in
which a gunman clad only in a jacket used an AR-15 rifle to kill four and
injure others.
Metropolitan Nashville Police
announced Monday on Twitter that he was taken into custody not far from his
apartment.
A detective from the department's
specialized investigations division's narcotics unit spotted Reinking in a wood
area near a construction site, Lieutenant Carlos Lara told news reporters.
He said construction workers told
officers a person matching the suspect's description walked through the area
and into woods. When confronted, the suspect lay down on the ground, and
officers cuffed him, Lara said.
He said Reinking carried a black
backpack that held a silver semi-automatic weapon and .45-caliber ammunition.
Detectives cut the backpack off of the suspect, he said.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said
Reinking requested a lawyer, was taken to a hospital and would later be booked
on four counts of criminal homicide.
Reinking, described as a white
man with brown hair, opened fire with an AR-15 in the Waffle House parking lot
and then stormed the restaurant shortly after 03:00. On Sunday, police say.
Four people were killed and four others were injured before a quick-thinking
customer wrestled the assault weapon away, preventing more bloodshed. Reinking
then disappeared, police said.
Police say about 20 people were
in the Waffle House at the time of the shootings. They included people of
different races and ethnicities, but the four people killed were
minorities - three black and one Hispanic.
It's not clear why Reinking
opened fire on restaurant patrons, though he may have "mental
issues," Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said earlier.
Police said Reinking stole a BMW
days before the attack. The car was quickly recovered, but authorities did not
immediately link it to Reinking.
Meanwhile, authorities in
Illinois shared past reports suggesting multiple red flags about a disturbed
young man with paranoid delusions.
In May 2016, Reinking told
deputies from Tazewell County, Illinois, that music superstar Taylor Swift was
stalking him and hacking his phone, and that his family was also involved,
according to a report released on Sunday.
Reinking agreed to go to a local
hospital for an evaluation after repeatedly resisting the request, the
sheriff's report said.
Another sheriff's report said
Reinking barged into a community pool in Tremont, Illinois, last June, and
jumped into the water wearing a pink woman's coat over his underwear.
Investigators believed he had an AR-15 rifle in his car trunk, but it was never
displayed. No charges were filed.
Last July, Reinking was arrested
by the U.S. Secret Service after he crossed into a restricted area near the
White House and refused to leave, saying he wanted to meet President Donald
Trump. Reinking was not armed at the time, but at the FBI's request, state
police in Illinois revoked his state firearms card and seized four guns from him,
authorities said.
The AR-15 used in the shootings
was among the firearms seized.
In August, Reinking told police
he wanted to file a report about 20 to 30 people tapping into his computer and
phone and people "barking like dogs" outside his residence, according
to a report.
"There's certainly evidence
that there's some sort of mental health issues involved," Tazewell County
Sheriff Robert Huston said. But he said deputies returned the guns to
Reinking's father on the promise that he would "keep the weapons secure
and out of the possession of Travis."
Reinking's father "has now
acknowledged giving them back" to his son, Aaron said.
Phone calls to a number listed
for the father, Jeffrey Reinking, went unanswered.
It is not clear why Reinking
moved recently from Morton, Illinois, and if it had anything to do with being
near Swift, who has a home in Nashville. Police say he worked in construction
for a while.
Police say Reinking drove into
the Waffle House parking lot in his gold Chevy Silverado pickup early Sunday
and sat there for about four minutes before opening fire outside the
restaurant.
The victims fatally shot in the
parking have been identified as Taurean Sanderlin, 29, of Goodlettsville, and
Joe Perez, 20, of Nashville. Sanderlin was an employee at the restaurant.
One of the fatally wounded inside
was DeEbony Groves, a 21-year student at Nashville's Belmont University. She
was remembered as an exceptional student who made the Dean's list, and a
tenacious basketball player.
Akilah Dasilva was also killed
inside the restaurant. The 23-year-old from Antioch was a rap artist and music
video producer.
He was at the restaurant with his
girlfriend, 21-year-old Tia Waggoner, the paper reported. Waggoner was wounded
and is being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dasilva's family
said she underwent surgery and doctors were trying to save her leg.
Police say Sharita Henderson, 24,
of Antioch, was wounded and is being treated at VUMC.
Also wounded was James Shaw Jr, a
29-year-old restaurant patron who burned his hand grabbing the hot muzzle of
the assault weapon as he wrestled the gun away. A Nashville native who works as
a wireless technician for AT&T, Shaw said he was no hero — despite being
hailed as one by Nashville Mayor David Briley.
Shaw said he pounced on the
suspect out of self-preservation, after making up his mind that "he was
going to have to work to kill me."
