A manhunt has been underway for Travis Reinking, 29, since Sunday morning after he entered the Waffle House at 3571 Murfreeesboro Pike and opened fire, killing four people and injuring two others.
Metro Nashville Police held a press conference Monday morning to update citizens. Don Aaron, Metro Police PIO, confirms there have been no confirmed sightings of Reinking since Sunday morning when he was spotted at his apartment. A search is underway by 160 law enforcement personnel who are searching the area near the Waffle House. All after school activities have been cancelled for Metro Nashville schools due to this search.
What We Know So Far:
- Reinking stole a BMW from a BMW Dealership in Brentwood last week. The car was recovered from Reinking’s apartment. Because the police department did not know who stole the vehicle, Reinking was not arrested at that time.
- Late last night, a man found a soft laptop case at I-24 and Old Hickory Blvd in LaVergne. Inside the case was a handwritten ID card with Reinking’s name. Officials are unsure if the case was put at this location before or after the incident at Waffle House.
- The investigation shows that Reinking arrived at the Waffle House in his pickup truck at 3:19 a.m on Sunday. He sat inside the vehicle for three to four minutes before getting out armed with an AR-15 rifle. He immediately opened fire on two individuals outside of Waffle House. The front glass of the restaurant was also shot out. He then went inside and continued shooting.
- Waffle House patron James Shaw, Jr., 29, initially ran to the restroom area to escape the gunfire. He then looked and saw an opportunity to confront Reinking. Shaw took that opportunity, wrestled the rifle from Reinking’s grasp, and tossed it over the counter. Reinking, who was nude during the episode with the exception of a jacket, fled the restaurant. He shed the jacket nearby. It contained two magazines for the AR-15. Reinking then walked south on Murfreesboro Pike.
- A search of Reinking’s truck, after the MNPD Hazardous Devices Unit confirmed that there was no explosives inside, led to the discovery of paperwork showing that he had a nearby apartment.
- It is presently presumed that Reinking went to the apartment after the shooting, put on a pair of pants, and again fled. A witness reported seeing a shirtless man matching his description in a wood line behind the apartment. MNPD officers and federal authorities are now working to determine Reinking’s whereabouts.
- Reinking is believed to have moved to Nashville in the fall of 2017. He worked in the crane/construction trade. The police department has been informed that he was fired from one employer three weeks ago and started with another last Monday, but did not return to work on Tuesday.
- Reinking was arrested by the United States Secret Service for being in a restricted area near the White House in July of 2017. He was subsequently released. Reinking was later interviewed by Tazewell County, Illinois, authorities and the FBI. His Illinois firearms authorization was revoked and four weapons were seized by Tazewell County authorities, among them was the AR-15 used today. The police department has received information that the guns were returned to Reinking’s father, who has acknowledged giving them back to his son. Presently two of the four guns are unaccounted for (one of them was recovered during the apartment search).
The victims of the Waffle House incident include:
• Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29, of Goodlettsville, an employee of the restaurant who was fatally wounded as he stood outside;
• Joe R. Perez, 20, of Nashville, a restaurant patron who was fatally wounded as he stood outside;
• Deebony Groves, 21, of Gallatin, who was fatally wounded inside the restaurant;
• Akilah Dasilva, 23, of Antioch, who was critically wounded inside the restaurant and later died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Two other persons were wounded by gunfire and are being treated at Vanderbilt. They are identified as:
• Shanita Waggoner, 21, of Nashville; &
• Sharita Henderson, 24, of Antioch.
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