Lawmen in Tennessee arrest Waffle House slayings suspect; man, 29, with gun captured in woods

Travis Reinking sits in a police car after his arrest Monday in Nashville, Tenn.
Travis Reinking sits in a police car after his arrest Monday in Nashville, Tenn.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The suspect in the killing of four people at a Waffle House restaurant was arrested near his apartment Monday after hiding from police for more than a day, authorities said.

About 160 police and federal agents had mounted a manhunt for 29-year-old Travis Reinking after the Sunday morning attacks, in which a gunman clad only in a jacket used an assault rifle to attack a crowd at the restaurant before being disarmed by a patron.

Construction workers told officers Monday that a person matching Reinking's description walked into the woods near a construction site, Nashville police Lt. Carlos Lara told reporters. A detective spotted Reinking, who lay on the ground to be handcuffed when confronted, Lara said.

Reinking carried a black backpack with a silver semi-automatic weapon and .45-caliber ammunition, Lara said. Detectives cut the backpack off him.

Police spokesman Don Aaron said Reinking requested a lawyer and was taken to a hospital before being booked on four counts of criminal homicide.

Reinking refused to answer questions or make a statement, Aaron said. He did not explain how Reinking eluded officers, police dogs and search helicopters, and he would not say if there was a possible motive.

Reinking's bail was set at $2 million -- $500,000 for each homicide count. He is to make his first appearance in court Wednesday morning.

Amid the search Monday for Reinking, the Nashville region took a cautious approach as the workweek began in the metropolitan area of more than 1.8 million people.

"We have a man who has exhibited significant instability," Aaron said during a briefing before Reinking was arrested. "We are concerned for the citizens not just here but anywhere else he may go."

Before the arrest, Metro Nashville Public Schools said it would enforce "lockout" procedures at some schools, meaning that students would be able to circulate through their buildings but that guests and visitors would be barred. Some parents had said they would keep their children at home Monday anyway.

TAYLOR SWIFT OBSESSION

A motive for the attack shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday was unclear, though Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said Sunday that the suspect may have "mental issues."

Police said Reinking opened fire in the restaurant parking lot before storming the restaurant, which had about 20 people inside. Four people -- three of them black and one Hispanic -- were killed and four others injured before a customer wrestled the weapon away and Reinking, who is white, ran out, police said.

Police said Reinking stole a BMW from a dealership days before the attack. The car was quickly recovered at his apartment complex, but authorities did not immediately link the theft to Reinking.

Reinking went to a Brentwood, Tenn., BMW dealership, asked about purchasing a car and then stole a vehicle, Aaron said. Police in Brentwood followed him but gave up on the search because it was rush hour and the car could be tracked through its GPS, according to Aaron; they later used that system to find the car at his apartment complex.

"They had no idea who the man was," Aaron said, noting that Reinking refused to give identification to the dealership, so they did not have his name. After the shooting, a key fob for the BMW was found in Reinking's apartment, Aaron said. Police in Brentwood did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Meanwhile, authorities in Illinois shared past reports suggesting multiple red flags about a disturbed young man with paranoid delusions.

Police reports show family members expressed concern for his welfare after he exhibited delusional behavior for an extended period, including expressing a belief that entertainer Taylor Swift was stalking him and hacking his phone and Netflix account.

In May 2016, Reinking told deputies from Tazewell County that Swift was stalking him and hacking his phone, and that his family was also involved.

According to the report, he told a story about a Dairy Queen meet-up with Swift that ended with Reinking looking for the singer on the restaurant's rooftop. The police report says Reinking was eventually taken to a hospital to be evaluated.

Police in Colorado also reported contact with Reinking. Salida Police Chief Terry Clark said Reinking complained on March 18, 2017, that Swift was stalking him. Clark said an officer met with Reinking but felt the complaint was obviously false.

Clark said investigators believe Reinking went to Salida for a job with a crane company and stayed about six months, leaving in either March or April 2017.

Another sheriff's report said Reinking barged into a community pool in Tremont, Ill., last June wearing a pink dress and swam in his underwear while trying to coax life guards to fight him. Investigators believed he had an AR-15 rifle in his car trunk, but it was never displayed. No charges were filed.

In July, Reinking was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service after he entered a restricted area near the White House and refused to leave, declaring himself a "sovereign citizen" who wanted to speak with President Donald Trump. Reinking was not armed, but at the FBI's request, Illinois police revoked his state firearms card and seized four guns from him, authorities said.

The AR-15 used in the shootings was among those seized.

Reinking was charged with unlawful entry, a misdemeanor, officials said. He later entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney's office. Prosecutors dismissed the case against Reinking in November after he completed the terms of the agreement.

In August, Reinking told police he wanted to 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," Sheriff Robert Huston of Tazewell County, Ill., said. But he said deputies returned the guns to Reinking's father on the promise 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.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Marcus Watson said on Monday that the father's action is "potentially a violation of federal law."

Phone calls to a number listed for the father, Jeffrey Reinking, went unanswered.

It is not clear why Travis Reinking moved recently from Morton, Ill. Nashville authorities said Reinking had worked in the crane and construction industries. He was fired from a job about three weeks ago and found a new job but had not been seen at work since April 16, a police spokesman said.

LEGISLATION PROPOSED

Police said Reinking drove into the Waffle House parking lot in his gold Chevrolet Silverado pickup early Sunday and sat there for about four minutes before opening fire.

The victims fatally shot in the parking lot 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, 21, a 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 Tennessean paper reported. Waggoner was wounded and underwent surgery to try to save her leg, Dasilva's family said. Police said Sharita Henderson, 24, of Antioch was wounded and was being treated as well.

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 and many others.

Also on Monday, Democratic Tennessee lawmakers proposed tightening gun laws in response to the shooting.

Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Jeff Yarbro told reporters Monday that his amendment would make it illegal for someone to have or buy a gun if that person was ordered not to by a state or federal court in Tennessee or another state.

He said the proposal would outlaw lending or giving that person a gun. And if a gun were confiscated, the measure would ban the gun's owner from returning it to the person from whom it was confiscated.

Yarbro said the change would make it illegal for someone who failed a background check to then buy from a private gun seller.

Information for this article was contributed by Sheila Burke, John Raby, Ed White and Justin Pritchard of The Associated Press; by Alan Blinder of The New York Times; and by Kristine Phillips, Mark Berman, Brandon Gee, Devlin Barrett, Keith L. Alexander, Alice Crites, Julie Tate, Katie Zezima and William Wan of The Washington Post.

A Section on 04/24/2018

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