In another case where one heroic citizen counter-attacks the shooter, the Waffle House shooting could have been far worse... except for Mr. James Shaw, Jr. Before ever going near the Waffle House at roughly 3:30am on the 22nd of April, 2018, Travis J. Reinking had a history of mental illness and a disregard for the law. The first documented contact found was almost a full two years earlier in May of 2016, when Tazewell County (Illinois) deputies responded to a drug store parking lot, only to find Reinking rambling on about a celebrity stalking him. At that time, again - almost a full two years before the Waffle House attack - Reinking was noted as not being compliant with the police, refusing to recognize police authority and being in possession of several firearms.
At that time, Reinking was residing in Tremont, Illinois; renting an apartment from his father who would, hopefully unknowingly but no less irresponsibly, play a direct role in Reinking’s attack at the Waffle House two years in the future. On at least two occasions in the summer of 2017, law enforcement authorities were called with regard to Reinking’s behavior which was reported as irrational and potentially delusional and included carrying a firearm (a rifle he was observed to have thrown in the trunk of his vehicle before cursing and then driving away).
Interestingly, in July of 2017, Reinking was arrested near the White House after he went someplace he wasn’t supposed to be and refused to leave the property. Reportedly, the US Secret Service arrested Reinking who claimed to be a sovereign citizen, was uncooperative and claimed he just wanted to schedule a meeting with the President. Reinking was, at that time, only charged with one misdemeanor crime for which the guilty finding was avoided by his entering into an agreement to perform four days of community service AND to stay away from the White House.
After he had been arrested and just barely avoided the permanent criminal conviction, Reinking’s Illinois firearms permit was revoked resulting in all of his firearms (four of them) being seized by the local Sheriff’s office. Those weapons never should have been available to him again and he had certainly demonstrated enough erratic / delusional behavior to warrant an involuntary conviction should his family chosen to pursue such. Not only did his family not pursue any type of mental / emotional help for him, his father went so far as to ask the Sheriff if HE could keep the firearms, assuring the Sheriff that he’d keep them secure from Reinking. Given that it was those very weapons Reinking used to attack the Waffle House in April 2018, it’s obvious his father either did a poor job of keeping them secure or outright gave them back to him. Reinking’s father was later charged with providing the weapons to his son but the charges did not include any conspiracy allegations.
In the fall of 2017, Reinking reportedly moved from Tremont, Illinois to the Nashville area and secured work as a crane operator / construction worker. That was the job he held until April 2, 2018 - about two weeks before the Waffle House attack - when he was fired after he accused several of his coworkers of conspiring against him - to what end this author can find no mention of in any reports.
On April 22, 2018, reportedly dressed in only a green jacket, Reinking exited his pickup truck in the Waffle House parking lot, shooting and killing his first two victims with a semi-automatic rifle. Inside the Waffle House he fired more rounds, killing a third victim, fatally wounding a fourth and grazing Mr. James Shaw Jr. When he saw his chance, Mr. Shaw jumped on Reinking and disarmed him but was not able to hold him for the police. Reinking was arrested the next day and was reportedly in possession of a backpack, at the time of his arrest, with more semi-automatic firearms and ammunition. Official records show that Reinking killed four victims and wounded two others but that a total of four people were wounded in the event. The two who were wounded but not by gunfire were reportedly wounded by broken / flying glass.
In August of 2018 while facing four murder charges and four attempted murder charges, Reinking was evaluated by psychologists who diagnosed him as unfit to stand trial and allegedly suffering from schizophrenia. Reinking, instead of facing trial, conviction and sentencing, was confined to a mental institution.
As has held true with every other active shooter event in the past 20+ years, there was an almost immediate political outcry to end access to “military grade” weapons. It might be worth noting that both the city and state elected representatives are noted for having made statements of condolence while one Tennessee Congressman only focused on the weapon used and the need to ban it.
As is also true with many active shooter attacks today, memorials and GoFundMe accounts were set up and civil suits against ReinKing are pending by the families of the victims.
