4 Dead, 4 Injured In Nashville Waffle House Shooting
NASHVILLE, Tenn. April 22 2018 – Four people were killed and four others were wounded when a gunman opened fire in an Antioch Waffle House.
It happened around 3:25 a.m. Sunday at 3571 Murfreesboro Pike near Hobson Pike.
Metro Nashville Police Department officials named 29-year-old Travis Reinking, from Illinois, as a person of interest in the shooting, saying the vehicle the gunman used was registered to him.
Police said Reinking drove his pickup truck into the Waffle House parking lot around 3:18 a.m.. He sat in the truck for a few minutes before getting out and immediately shooting and killing two people outside of the restaurant with an AR-15.
Officers said he then went inside and shot and killed another victim.
When the gunshots rang out, a patron ran to the restrooms. He was watching the gunman and rushed at him when he saw the gunman look down and fidget with the gun.
The 29-year-old male patron wrestled the AR-15 away from the gunman. The patron suffered an elbow injury and other abrasions. He was taken to TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center and has since been released.
Police said six of the eight people injured were shot.
Fatality/Injury Info.:
3 people were shot and killed at the Waffle House
1 person was shot but transported to the hospital where they later died
2 people were shot and are being treated at the hospital
2 people were injured but not shot
Witnesses said he was nude wearing only a green jacket and got away on foot after the patron took him down.
Police believe Reinking lives in an apartment in the area. At some point he shed his jacket and was spotted running naked through the area. He’s believed to have ran home and put on black pants.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center officials said they received three patients from the shooting: one was considered critical but stable and the two others were in critical condition.
He was last seen in a wood line near Discovery at Mountain View Apartments on Mountain Springs Drive near the Waffle House. Police dogs have been tracking him.
Officials said Reinking is known to both federal and Illinois state law enforcement due to prior incidents.
Police asked anyone who may see him to call 615-862-8600 immediately.
Waffle House officials released the following statement:
This is a very sad day for the Waffle House family. We ask for everyone to keep the victims and their families in their thoughts and prayers.
Mayor David Briley released the following statement after the shooting:
It’s a tragic day for our city anytime people lose their lives at the hands of a gunman. My heart goes out to the families & friends of every person who was killed or wounded in this morning’s shooting. I know all of their lives will be forever changed by this devastating crime.
There’s clearly more to be said about these circumstances, but for now I ask Nashville to pray for and rally around these victims and join me in thanking [Metro Police Department] as it works to find and apprehend the shooter.
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