The gunman who opened fire at a Nashville Waffle House with an AR-15 wearing nothing but a green jacket is still on the run and police have warned he is armed and dangerous.
Travis Reinking, 29, shot dead four people and injured seven others at the Waffle House in Antioch early Sunday morning before shedding his jacket and fleeing.
Police said Reinking had his Illinois gun license revoked last year at the request of the FBI and four of his weapons were seized by authorities in Tazewell back in October.
The guns, however, were eventually returned to Reinking’s father who has since admitted to giving them back to his son.
Travis Reinking, 29, shot dead four people and injured seven others at the Waffle House in Antioch early Sunday morning before shedding his jacket and fleeing
The AR-15 used in the Waffle House shooting was among the four weapons.
Police said two of Reinking’s four guns are still unaccounted for and authorities believe he may be at large with the previously-seized weapons.
They have warned that he is armed and dangerous.
Authorities seized Reinking’s weapons following an incident at the White House in July last year when he was arrested by the Secret Service for crossing an exterior security barrier and charged with unlawful entry.
Reinking told Secret Service officials he was trying to set up a meeting with President Donald Trump.
The Metro Nashville Police Department said arrest warrants charging Reinking with murder have been issued as authorities continue to search for the gunman.
Police said he arrived at the Waffle House before dawn on Sunday and waited in the parking lot for four minutes before shooting two people outside.
When Reinking entered the restaurant, a hero diner identified as James Shaw Jr managed to grab the rifle and toss it over a counter.
The AR-15 (above) used in the Waffle House shooting was among Reinking’s four weapons that the FBI confiscated in October following an incident at the White House
Police said arrest warrants charging Reinking with murder have been issued as authorities continue to search for the gunman following the Waffle House shooting
Hero diner James Shaw Jr managed to grab the rifle and toss it over a counter after the gunman opened fire. Shaw shows off his injured hand after he grabbed the gun barrel
The gunman then fled and was seen walking, nude, on a road, authorities said.
Witnesses said he ran to a nearby apartment complex where he lived and put on black pants before entering the woods barefoot.
A SWAT team swarmed his apartment in the morning with their guns drawn and screamed at nearby residents to ‘get back’.
Police declared the scene clear at about 3pm, with no sight of Reinking.
Authorities used helicopters and dogs to search a wooded area near Reinking’s apartment.
Police were still searching for him amid a steady rain more than 10 hours after the shooting.
Authorities identified those killed in the shooting as 29-year-old restaurant worker Taurean C. Sanderlin of Goodlettsville, 20-year-old restaurant patron Joe R. Perez of Nashville, 23-year-old Akilah Dasilva of Nashville and Deebony Groves, a 21-year-old woman from Gallatin, Tennessee.
Sanderlin and Perez were killed outside the restaurant and Dasilva was critically wounded inside and later died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Groves was shot dead inside the restaurant.
Authorities seized Reinking’s (above) weapons following an incident at the White House in July last year when he was arrested by the Secret Service for crossing a security barrier
Police said he arrived at the Waffle House before dawn on Sunday and waited in the parking lot for four minutes before opening fire
Coroners carry out a body from the Waffle House where four died in the early hours of Sunday
Three of the victims died at the scene and a fourth died at the hospital. Coroners could be seen removing bodies from the restaurant on Sunday afternoon
Two people – Shanita Waggoner, 21, and Sharita Henderson, 24, are also being treated for gunshot wounds at Vanderbilt.
James Shaw Jr., the man who wrestled the gun from the shooter, said he had only entered the restaurant just two minutes ahead of Reinking.
He said he had gone there to eat early on Sunday after visiting a nightclub.
When he heard the gunshots, Shaw said he initially thought they were stacks of plates that had fallen over. Shaw said it was then that he saw restaurant workers scatter and a body near the front door as the gunman burst through the entrance.
‘He shot through that door; I’m pretty sure he grazed my arm. At that time I made up my mind… that he was going to have to work to kill me,’ he said.
‘When the gun jammed or whatever happened, I hit him with the swivel door.’
The gun then jammed up and Shaw said he managed to get one hand on the gun and grab it. He then threw it over the countertop and took the shooter with him out the entrance.
Shaw said the shooter then ran away.
Authorities are hailing Shaw a hero for preventing further bloodshed at the restaurant.
Police added Reinking to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Top 10 Most Wanted List described him as being 6ft 4in and 180 pounds.
A SWAT team swarmed the gunman’s apartment (above) in the morning with their guns drawn
Police were still searching for him amid a steady rain more than 10 hours after the shooting