Tennessee gunman on the run was once arrested at the White House

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Sidney Morning Herald

Updated 23 April 2018 — 8:04am first published at 2:13am

Washington: A man who police say opened fire at a Waffle House restaurant near Nashville early on Sunday morning, local time, killing four and injuring several, once trespassed at the White House wanting to meet US President Donald Trump.

The man arrived at the restaurant just before 3.30am and shot two people outside with a rifle, killing them, Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said. The man then went inside and fired several more shots, killing a third person.

A total of six people were shot, Aaron said. A fourth person later died in hospital. Two others remain in critical condition.

Police later identified the suspect as 29-year-old Travis Reinking.



Read more: https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/tennessee-gunman-on-the-run-was-once-arrested-at-the-white-house-20180423-p4zb2u.html

---

Travis Reinking, who police are searching for in connection with a fatal shooting at a Waffle House restaurant in Nashville .

Photo: Nashville Police

[Judi Lynn]

1. Travis Reinking: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

By Ellyn Santiago and Tom Cleary
Published Apr 22, 2018 at 9:10am
Updated Apr 22, 2018 at 6:29pm



A man who was arrested at the White House last summer while trying to set up a meeting with President Donald Trump opened fire at a Waffle House in Tennessee early Sunday morning, killing four people and wounding two others before he was stopped by a heroic diner, authorities say. The shooter fled from the scene and remains at large, according to police.

The gunman, identified by police as Travis Reinking, 29, began shooting patrons and employees with an AR-15 rifle about 3:25 a.m. at the 24-hour restaurant on Murfreesboro Pike in Antioch, near Nashville, police said. A total of six people were shot, according to Metro Nashville Police, who are leading the investigation with help from state and federal agencies. Three victims were pronounced dead at the scene. One victim then died at the hospital and two are currently hospitalized, according to authorities.

Police are searching for Reinking near his apartment complex and the area surrounding the restaurant. He will be charged with murder upon his apprehension, according to authoroties. He has been added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s “Top 10 Most Wanted” list, which says he should be considered “armed and dangerous.” One weapon owned by him was found at the scene, but at least two other guns are unaccounted for, police said. A reward of up to $2,500 is being offered for his apprehension.

Reinking was arrested by the Secret Service in July 2017 after he entered a restricted area outside the White House, authorities said at a press conference. According to the Secret Service, Reinking made unlawful entry after going into a bike rack area that was past a line where unauthorized access is allowed, a spokesman for the agency said. Reinking refused to leave after being asked to and was then taken into custody and charged with unlawful entry. The case was dismissed in November 2017 after Reinking completed a first-time offender diversion program. The Secret Service said Reinking told agents he was at the White House to make an appointment with the president.

More:
https://heavy.com/news/2018/04/travis-reinking-waffle-house-gunman/

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. "Sovereign citizen" claim - far right nutters

In July 2017, Travis Reinking told a DC Metropolitan officer that he must get into the White House to speak with the President, according to an arrest report. The officer explained that he must get a tour to do that and told Reinking to move away from the pedestrian entrance, but the report states Reinking told the officer again that he had to speak with the President and that he was a "sovereign citizen" who had a right to inspect the grounds. After telling Reinking to move again, the report states that Reinking took his tie off, balled it into his fist, began approaching the officer and walked past the security barriers.
...
Authorities revoked Reinking's firearm authorization and seized four weapons after the interview. One of those weapons was the AR-15 used in Sunday's Waffle House shooting, which killed four people, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police.

Police later returned the seized weapons to Reinking's father, who gave them back to his son, police said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/22/us/waffle-house-shooter-white-house/index.html

[Judi Lynn]

3. Amazing. Hope DU readers will all see this article.

So many authorities knew he had these weapons and was unstable but they returned them, anyway.

[riversedge]

5. Aaron said the four guns were returned to the suspect's father, who acknowledged giving them back to

I recall this incident of someone hopping over the bike rakes.
I imagine the FBI did not have any reason not to give back the guns??? I do not know what criteria they use.





.....Hudson said Reinking tried to cross bike racks near the White House grounds that were part of security barriers. He was asked to leave the restricted area, and when he declined, Hudson says he was arrested on a charge of unlawful entry.

Reinking, who is from Morton, Illinois, was subsequently released and was later interviewed by the FBI and authorities in Tazewell County, Illinois.
Reinking once trespassed at the White House wanting to meet US President Donald Trump.



Aaron said Reinking's firearms authorisation was then revoked at the request of the FBI, and four weapons were seized, including the AR15 that he allegedly used in the shooting on Sunday.

Aaron said the four guns were returned to the suspect's father, who acknowledged giving them back to his son................

[Judi Lynn]

7. Not only did the dad condition his idiot son to think this way, he re-armed him, too! n/t

[riversedge]

10. I missed the part about the fathers role in son's ' behavior. I will have to catch up. Too nice

of a day to spend reading --last week we had the blizzard. Today spring is here

[FailureToCommunicate]

8. They returned his weapons, after being stopped at the White House gate?!? Oh, he's a white

guy. Of course.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

15. Should we take bets on whether he was targeting blacks?

My bet is that he was, after reading parts of his history.

......

[bitterross]

22. No need to bet. Antioch is a middle-class African-American area.

He was targeting blacks.

[Stonepounder]

4. And notice, there was a picture of the suspect and picture of the guy who disarmed him.

The shooter: White
The hero : Black

And just who are so many of the cops afraid of?!?

[Judi Lynn]

6. He saved so many others by taking on the killer face to face, without a weapon.

From another source:

Man fought gunman: He 'was going to have to work to kill me'
Sheila Burke, Associated Press
Updated 4:48 pm, Sunday, April 22, 2018




NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The man who wrestled the gun away from the Waffle House shooting suspect in Tennessee said Sunday if he were going to die, the gunman would "have to work to kill me."

Police are calling James Shaw Jr. a hero for saving lives in the busy restaurant, but the 29-year-old Nashville resident said he only made a split-second decision to challenge the shooter and save himself from being killed.

Shaw said at a news conference Sunday he had spent an evening out at a nightclub and entered the restaurant minutes ahead of the gunman. He said he and another friend were seated at a counter when he heard gunshots, thinking at first that a stack of freshly washed plates had crashed down.

Then, he said, restaurant workers scattered and he turned and saw a body near the front door as the gunman burst in. It was then he realized he had heard gunshots.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Man-fought-gunman-He-was-going-to-have-to-work-12855353.php

[Stonepounder]

12. And also notice that he was a 'good guy WITHOUT a gun' who stopped

a 'bad buy with a gun'

TAKE THAT, NRA!!!!!

[Judi Lynn]

17. More impressive than I can imagine. Burned the heck out of his hand, too,

grabbing that blazing hot should-be illegal gun.

He IS a super-hero. There's no doubt he would do it all over, again.

[Maxheader]

9. Brave man...

wrestling with a nut-job like that. And has the courage to
say it was to save his own ass...but was glad it saved
others as well.

[MustLoveBeagles]

13. He's modest. He claims he's not a hero.

I disagree. How many people would have the courage to do what he did even if it was to save their own ass?

[CousinIT]

11. He's mentally ill. Trump made it legal for the mentally ill to buy guns.

And though his weapons were taken from him once, he somehow got the AR-15 back.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2018/04/22/travis-reinking-nashville-waffle-house-shooting-suspect/540144002/

The 29-year-old Illinois man accused of carrying out a fatal shooting Sunday morning at an Antioch Waffle House previously had weapons removed from his possession after a 2017 arrest near the White House.

Newly obtained Illinois police records also show the suspected shooter thought he was being stalked by Taylor Swift and had previously threatened people with an AR-15 rifle.

Travis Reinking opened fire early Sunday morning at the Waffle House, killing at least four people, Nashville police say. At least four others were injured.

In July 2017, the U.S. Secret Service arrested Reinking for being in a "restricted area" near the White House, according to the Secret Service.

"He wanted to set up a meeting with the president," said Secret Service representative Todd Hudson.

(previous post about this: https://democraticunderground.com/100210526587)

[former9thward]

19. It is not legal for mentally ill to buy guns.

That is false. More to the point no legal authority has judged this person to be mentally ill.

[CousinIT]

31. "thought he was being stalked by Taylor Swift"

Don't need "legal authority".

And then there's this:

"The father was also aware of other disturbing incidents involving his son’s mental health in recent years, and he agreed not to give the weapons back to Travis, police reports allege. Troubling incidents involving Travis Reinking before the mass shooting include one in which he falsely believed the singer Taylor Swift was harassing him by hacking his phone and another in which he jumped into a public pool in a pink house dress, reports, which you can read later in this article..."

Between that delusion, those behaviors, and his anti-gov't group membership, he's obviously mentally ill.

Oh. And then there's this: https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/politics/trump-gun-legislation-mental-health/index.html

. . . on February 28, 2017, he (Trump) signed a measure nixing a regulation aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of some severely mentally ill people.

Now, I don't need an "authority" to tell me something was SERIOUSLY WRONG with this man and that his idiot father should NOT have given him his guns back. In fact the man (both of them) should be prohibited from owning any guns at all. Both of them are "not all there" so-to-speak.

[former9thward]

34. "Don't need "legal authority"

Sorry, in this country you do. That may dismay you but we work under a system of law here. Not perfect by any means but better than any of the alternatives.

The measure Trump signed had nothing to do with this case. At issue was whether people who were unable to deal with their finances could own guns. Very few of these people are mentally ill. Many older people get to some point in their lives when someone is appointed to take care of their finances. They are not "mentally ill". Maybe mentally exhausted but not ill. The ACLU opposed the restriction and Trump agreed with them.

[underpants]

14. If you're at a Waffle House at 3am.....

Fill in the rest.

Actually this James guy seems pretty okay. What he was doing at a Waffle House at 3am I have no idea.

[Judi Lynn]

18. He and a friend had left a night club, got the munchies, like crowds of people do, in any city. n/t

[inwiththenew]

20. Once again the system fails us

The guy had his firearms license in Illinois revoked and his weapons seized at the request of the FBI and they were given to his father? Why weren't they destroyed? This doesn't absolve the dad of any blame. His son was clearly crazier than a shithouse rat and he let him have access to the firearms. I hope they draw and quarter the dad...legally speaking.

[Judi Lynn]

21. These Are The People Who Were Shot And Killed At A Tennessee Waffle House

The victims — a "brilliant" student about to graduate from college; a talented and "humble" musician; a cook known as "T;" and a 20-year-old from Austin — were all under 30.

Posted on April 22, 2018, at 9:43 p.m.
Brianna Sacks
BuzzFeed News Reporter

Shortly before 3:30 a.m. Sunday, police say 29-year-old man pulled up to a Waffle House in Antioch, Tennessee, got out of his pick up truck wearing only a green jacket, and opened fire on the restaurant.

The shooter, identified as Travis Reinking, shot and killed Taurean C. Sanderlin, a 29-year-old Waffle House employee who was standing outside, as well as 20-year-old Joe Perez.

Once inside, he gunned down Akilah Dasilva, 23, of Antioch, who later died at at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He also killed DeEbony Groves, a 21-year-old college student. At least three more people were injured in the attack.

This is what we know about those who were killed.

DeEbony Groves, 21




More:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/briannasacks/waffle-house-shooting-victims?utm_term=.uq2wWGBLa#.cqG7OgxjA

[Judi Lynn]

23. Waffle House Shooter Got AR-15 Back From Dad. James Shaw Took It Away and Stopped a Massacre.

Far more than four people would have died inside a Waffle House if not for the man whose professor said is a ‘big-hearted kid’ beneath his bravado.
STEVEN HALE
04.22.18 9:58 PM ET

NASHVILLE, Tennessee—After allegedly opening fire in a Waffle House early Sunday morning, Travis Reinking’s AR-15 was taken from him for the second time in less than a year.

Naked except for a jacket and the assault rifle police say he’d just used to shoot six people, Reinking paused—to reload, or perhaps, because the gun had jammed—and that’s when James Shaw Jr. saw an opportunity to end the massacre. He charged Reinking, wrestled the gun away from him, and threw it over the counter. Reinking fled the scene and remains at large.

At a press conference Sunday afternoon, where Shaw, a 29-year-old Nashville native, was hailed as a hero, he dismissed the hero talk about the scenario he’d found himself in.

“I was completely doing it just to save myself. Now, me doing that, I did save other people. But I don’t want people to think that I was the Terminator or Superman or anybody like that. It was just, I figured, if I was going to die he was going to have to work for it.”

More:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/waffle-house-shooter-travis-reinking-got-ar-15-back-from-his-dad-james-shaw-took-it-away-and-stopped-a-massacre.html

[Judi Lynn]

24. BBC Video: Waffle House shooting 'hero': 'I was saving myself'

Waffle House shooting 'hero': 'I was saving myself'
James Shaw Jr disarmed a gunman who killed four people in a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee.

In a press conference, he explained what went through his mind when it happened.

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-43860869/waffle-house-shooting-hero-i-was-saving-myself

[Judi Lynn]

25. Waffle House shooting: Father of suspect Travis Reinking previously took away son's guns

Dave Boucher, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee
Published 10:45 a.m. CT April 22, 2018 | Updated 9:33 p.m. CT April 22, 2018

. . .

Reinking had previously threatened someone with an AR-15, records show

In May 2016, the Tazewell Sheriff's Office responded to a call involving Reinking, according to police reports obtained by the Peoria Journal Star. Reinking told law enforcement he thought Swift was stalking him. Law enforcement took Reinking to a local hospital for an evaluation.

In June 2017, police records state Reinking threatened someone with an AR-15 while wearing a pink dress. After threatening the man, Reinking drove to a public pool and dove in before exposing himself to others at the pool, according to the reports.

When police contacted Reinking's father, the father said "awhile back he took 3 rifles and a hand gun away and locked them up when Travis was having problems. (The father) wanted to move out of state so he gave them back to (Travis)…” the reports state.

. . .

In early August, Reinking again told local law enforcement he thought he was a victim of hacking and that people were trying to get him to break the law. Later in the month, police came to take away Reinking's gun, the Illinois records show.

More:
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2018/04/22/travis-reinking-nashville-waffle-house-shooting-suspect/540144002/

[Judi Lynn]

26. Jeff Reinking, Travis Reinkings Father: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Jeff Reinking, Travis Reinking’s Father: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know



Facebook
Jeff and Judy Reinking, the parents of Travis Reinking.

Jeff Reinking, the father of accused Waffle House mass shooter Travis Reinking, is a crane company owner from Illinois who gave firearms back to his son after Travis Reinking was arrested near the White House, authorities allege. Travis Reinking proclaimed to be a “sovereign citizen” during that arrest, according to police reports.

The father was also aware of other disturbing incidents involving his son’s mental health in recent years, and he agreed not to give the weapons back to Travis, police reports allege. Troubling incidents involving Travis Reinking before the mass shooting include one in which he falsely believed the singer Taylor Swift was harassing him by hacking his phone and another in which he jumped into a public pool in a pink house dress, reports, which you can read later in this article, show.

Travis Reinking, who is originally from Illinois, is now wanted in the mass shooting at an Antioch, Tennessee Waffle House, which unfolded in the early morning hours of April 22, 2018. Reinking was disarmed by a heroic customer, James Shaw Jr., but not before four people lay dead. It’s not clear yet whether authorities are alleging that the father returning weapons to the adult son was a violation of the law, however. The AR-15 used in the mass shooting was legally purchased.



The deceased were identified as Joe R. Perez, 20, of Nashville; Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29, Goodlettsville; Akilah Dasilva, 23, of Antioch; and DeEbony Groves, 21 of Gallatin. Travis Reinking fled the restaurant after the mass shooting and is at large, authorities say.

More:
https://heavy.com/news/2018/04/jeff-reinking-travis-father-dad-jeffrey/

[SoCalMusicLover]

27. Can They Charge Father With 4 Murders?

I know they won't, but could they?

Yay Guns! Thanks NRA & ALL It's Members. If one happens to be reading this, you're part of the problem.

[Calista241]

32. Depends on what the cops said to him when they turned over the seized firearms

On the one hand, if you have reasonable cause to believe the person you’re gifting a firearm to is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition, or that the person will use the firearm in a crime, you are committing a felony.

Since the firearms were seized, that should be a major clue that Travis was a person prohibited from owning / operating / utilizing firearms. The cops, at the behest of the FBI, also revoked his Illinois FOID card (Firearms Owner ID).

BUT...Travis had moved to Tennessee after the seizure and revoking of his Illinois license. His status of being prohibited may not have applied in Tennessee. Travis Reinking was never adjudicated as mentally unfit or, as far as I know, committed any felonies that would have made his prohibited status permanent.

[SoCalMusicLover]

33. Yeah, Thanks To NRA & Our Lack Of Laws, Dad Probably Will Get Away With It

He should be put in jail for the rest of his life. Instead, he'll probably go on, and say, "Whoops, my bad."

[SoCalMusicLover]

28. Our Country Is Fucked Up Beyond All Belief

It amazes me how people would want to come and visit, given the circumstances.

So let's get this straight. The cops, in all their brilliance, and after all the previous activity, just decided to give the AR-15 back to good ol' dad, on his assurance that the guns would not be returned to his dear baby boy.

Dad, being the good American NRA member that he likely is, wasn't gonna let some cop tell him how to raise his fine gentleman of a son, and gives the weapon of war back to the kid.

Thanks to the stupid cops, a father who should be charged with Murder, the lives of at least 1000's who knew the victims are impacted forever.

[Judi Lynn]

29. Travis Reinkings Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

5 hours ago

. . .

Jeff Reinking, Travis Reinking’s father, is now accused by authorities of giving weapons again to his son after Travis Reinking was arrested close to the White Home in July 2017. Nevertheless, it’s not but clear whether or not authorities are alleging any wrongdoing on the daddy’s half by allegedly doing so. Reinking’s mom’s Fb web page is full of shares and posts about Christianity. She additionally shared a graphic on faculty shootings. He’s from a household of 4.

. . .

three. Reinking’s Mom Shared Posts on Faculty Shootings, House Education & Christianity

On social media, Judy Reinking periodically weighed in on subjects within the information, together with faculty shootings, Widespread Core, and residential education. She wrote rather a lot about household too, and she or he threaded Christian references all through her web page.

In 2016, she shared a graphic that learn, “When you carry a bible, the devil gets a headache. When you open it, he collapses. When he sees you reading it, he faints. When he sees you living it, he flees…”

In 2015, she shared a graphic on faculty shootings. It reads: “I don’t remember a single school shooting when I was a kid. What I do remember is our teacher having us begin the day reciting the pledge of allegiance, reading from the Bible and praying. We also had the Ten Commandments on the wall. Maybe getting rid of those things wasn’t such a good idea after all!”

More:
https://verifiedtasks.com/travis-reinkings-family-5-fast-facts-you-need-to-know/

[Judi Lynn]

30. Waffle House shooting victims ID'd as worker, star athlete, music artist

By PETER MARTINEZ, JUSTIN CARISSIMO CBS NEWS April 22, 2018, 8:30 PM
Last Updated Apr 22, 2018 11:27 PM EDT

Authorities have identified the victims of Sunday's shooting that left four people dead at a Waffle House in Tennessee. They were identified as 29-year-old Taurean C. Sanderlin, 20-year-old Joe R. Perez, 21-year-old DeEbony Groves and 23-year-old Akilah Dasilva.

Two patients were receiving care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Sunday, one was listed in critical condition and the other in stable.

Nashville Mayor David Briley described the shooting as "a tragic day" for the city.

"My heart goes out to the families & friends of every person who was killed or wounded," Briley said in an statement. "I know all of their lives will be forever changed by this devastating crime."

More:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/waffle-house-shooting-victims-identified-today-2018-04-22/

[Judi Lynn]

35. Alleged Waffle House shooter displayed sovereign citizen beliefs

April 23, 2018
Adam Sommerstein

Travis Reinking, 29, who allegedly shot and killed four people at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee, Sunday, proclaimed himself a “sovereign citizen” during an incident at the White House in 2017 and displayed other signs of an interest in sovereign citizen ideology.

Reinking, who was captured by police earlier today in Tennessee, walked into the Waffle House with an AR-15 rifle and killed an employee and three customers. While attempting to reload his rifle, a customer, James Shaw, Jr., grabbed the weapon from Reinking, who then fled the restaurant.

On July 7, 2017, Reinking appeared outside the White House and demanded to see President Trump, telling officers that he was a “sovereign citizen” and had the right to inspect the White House grounds, according to an arrest report from the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department.

During a May 2016 incident between Reinking and Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office deputies at a CVS in Morton, Illinois, Reinking displayed delusional tendencies, saying the entertainer Taylor Swift was stalking and harassing him. Responding officers checked Reinking’s name in a law enforcement database, which indicated Reinking did “not recognize police authority.”

More:
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/04/23/alleged-waffle-house-shooter-displayed-sovereign-citizen-beliefs

[bronxiteforever]

36. Thanks Judi for posting these.