Nashville Waffle House shooting

Did You Know?

• At the time of his capture, Reinking was carrying a backpack with a .45-caliber Kimber 1911 handgun and ammunition.
• Reinking committed the attack after becoming convinced that the people inside the Waffle House were Central Intelligence Agency agents.

Perpetrator

Travis Reinking, a construction worker originally from Morton, Illinois, near Peoria, had a documented pattern of strange behavior, paranoia, and delusions, with an intense fixation on pop star Taylor Swift. In May 2016, sheriff's deputies in Tazewell County were called by Reinking's parents to a drugstore parking lot. A paramedic there reported that Reinking believed Swift was personally stalking him and hacking his phone and bank accounts. The official report noted that Reinking was hostile toward police, did not recognize their authority, and owned several firearms.

In 2017, he was living in an apartment above his father's crane rental business in Tremont, Illinois, and working as a crane operator for a different company. He quit that job in March 2017 because he thought police were following him and that his opportunity to marry Swift was running out. That June, an employee of his father's business called the police after Reinking came downstairs holding a rifle while wearing a pink dress, swore, and then tossed the rifle into his trunk before leaving.

Around the same time, a public pool director reported that Reinking had shown up at the pool in a pink women's housecoat and exposed himself to lifeguards. In July 2017, the U.S. Secret Service arrested Reinking near the White House after he crossed a barrier and refused to leave, stating he wanted to meet with the president and claiming to be a sovereign citizen with the right to inspect the grounds. He was charged with unlawful entry, a misdemeanor, and entered a deferred prosecution agreement.

As part of the deal, he completed 32 hours of community service and was ordered to stay away from the White House. The case was dismissed in November 2017 after he finished the program.

Shooting

The gunman, wearing only a green jacket, sat in a pickup for about four minutes before stepping out with an AR-15-style rifle. He killed two people outside the Waffle House, then went inside and shot a third person dead and mortally wounded a fourth, who later died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Four others were treated for injuries. James Shaw Jr., a customer with a graze wound to his elbow, hid near the bathrooms.

When the rifle was pointed down, possibly to reload or clear a jam, Shaw rushed the gunman, grabbed the weapon, and threw it over the counter, burning his hands. After a short struggle, the gunman fled completely naked, having shed his jacket. The four victims were Joe Perez Jr., 20, Taurean Sanderlin, 29, Akilah Dasilva, 23, and DeEbony Groves, 21. The attacker fired 30 rounds total—15 outside and 15 inside—and his jacket held 60 unused live rounds. He carried out the attack because he believed the people inside were CIA agents.

Legal proceedings

Reinking was charged with four counts of criminal homicide, four counts of attempted homicide, and one count of having a firearm while committing a dangerous felony. Forensic psychologists determined he suffered from severe schizophrenia, and in August 2018 a judge found him incompetent to stand trial and ordered him committed to a mental hospital. In October 2018 he was found competent to stand trial. In January 2020, prosecutors announced they would not seek the death penalty, meaning he faced up to life without parole.

The trial began with jury selection on January 25, 2022, and opening arguments on January 31. Reinking initially pled not guilty to 16 counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, but on the day of trial changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. On February 4, 2022, he was found guilty on all counts, including four counts of premeditated first degree murder, after the jury deliberated for nearly five hours. The following day, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Jeffrey Reinking, his father, was later charged with unlawful delivery of a firearm for returning the weapons to his son, found guilty in May 2022, and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Aftermath

In the wake of the shooting, Nashville Mayor David Briley called it a tragic day for the city, while Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam said he was deeply saddened by the event. Congressman Jim Cooper advocated for limiting civilian access to military-grade assault weapons. On April 22, Mayor Briley attended church with James Shaw Jr. Though hailed as a hero by Tennessee officials and others, Shaw did not consider himself one. By May 7, he had raised $227,000 through GoFundMe to assist victims.

That same day, Tennessee State University, his alma mater, established a scholarship in his name, and state lawmakers passed a joint resolution honoring his actions. Shaw appeared on several media outlets, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where he met his idol, NBA star Dwyane Wade. In May 2018, he met with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor and activist X González, along with survivors David Hogg, Alex Wind, and Jaclyn Corin, for a brunch at a Denny’s near Nashville.

At the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards, Chadwick Boseman, after winning Best Hero for Black Panther, called Shaw to the stage and gave him the award, saying it would live at Shaw’s house. Shaw also received a Gold Vail Award from AT&T CEO Randall L. Stephenson and, later in 2018, a BET Humanitarian Award. Two victims’ families filed civil lawsuits against Travis Reinking and his family.