Thursday, April 18, 2024

Waffle House Shooter Arrested, Victims Include Star Athlete and Local Musician

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*The gunman who stormed a Nashville Waffle House restaurant early Sunday morning, and shot four people to death, was arrested after a manhunt on April 23.

29-year-old Travis Reinking was captured by authorities not far from his apartment Monday afternoon. A federal official says his father could face charges for returning guns that were taken from Reinking after an incident last year at the White House.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Marcus Watson said at a news conference Monday that Jeffrey Reinking’s act of returning the guns to his son is “potentially a violation of federal law.”

Authorities mounted a massive manhunt for Reinking after the Sunday morning attacks, in which he used an AR-15 rifle to kill four and injure others. After a brave bystander wrestled the assault-style weapon away from him, Travis fled, naked and on foot.

He is accused in the fatal shootings of Taurean Sanderlin, Joe Perez, Akilah DaSilva and DeEbony Groves. Police said he also injured Shanita Waggoner and Sharita Henderson.

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Waffle House Shooting Victim
Taurean Sanderlin, 29

Sanderlin was a cook at the Waffle House. He was on break outside at the time of the incident, where he was shot to death when Reinking opened fire. 

“The senselessness that continues to happen will not be overlooked and we will not allow the enemy to take victory,” Taurean’s cousin Tiffany Sanderlin wrote on Facebook. “We celebrate the Life he [led] and take refuge in the person he was.”

Waffle House Shooting Victim
Joe Perez, 20

Perez, a Waffle House customer, was killed outside the restaurant.

“Please say a prayer for my family for today is the hardest day of my life,” his mother, Trisha Perez, wrote in a Facebook post. “My husband and sons are broken right now with this loss. Our lives are shattered.”

Waffle House Shooting Victim
Akilah DaSilva, 23

DaSilva was shot while eating inside the Waffle House. He died after being transported to a hospital. According to his Facebook profile, he was a rap artist and music video producer, The Tennessean reports.

“He had a smile that could light up a room and a laugh that would warm your heart,” DaSilva’s family said in a statement. “He embodied compassion and had a zeal for life. A loving son and selfless friend, he was a beacon of hope, love, and strength in his family.”

DaSilva’s girlfriend, 21-year-old Shanita Waggoner, was injured in the shooting.

Waffle House Shooting Victim
DeEbony Groves, 21

Groves, a senior and star athlete at Belmont University, was shot to death inside the restaurant. 

“She was a brilliant young lady, very, very intelligent and a very hard worker,” her basketball coach Kim Kendrick told The Tennessean. “She was a very likable young lady. She was one of three seniors on her team, and she was a great role model for the other players because of her hard work and dedication to her studies and to her school.”

It’s not clear why Reinking opened fire on restaurant patrons, but authorities want you to know that he may have “mental issues,” Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said. The Chicago Tribue noted several instances about this “disturbed young man with paranoid delusions.”

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