Travis Reinking and the 2018 Nashville Waffle House Massacre
Background
Travis Jeffrey Reinking was a 29-year-old construction worker from Morton, Illinois, when he carried out a mass shooting at a Waffle House restaurant in Antioch, Tennessee, during the early morning of April 22, 2018. He killed four young people and wounded several others before an unarmed customer, James Shaw Jr., confronted him and took away his rifle.
Long before the murders, Reinking had displayed paranoid, delusional and increasingly erratic behavior. Police reports described incidents in which he claimed that people were following or controlling him. He also believed that singer Taylor Swift was communicating with him, stalking him or interfering with his personal affairs. His relatives and others contacted authorities on several occasions because of concerns about his conduct and access to firearms.
In July 2017, Reinking entered a restricted area near the White House in Washington, D.C. He reportedly told Secret Service officers that he wanted to meet President Donald Trump and refused repeated instructions to leave. He was arrested for unlawful entry. Following the incident, Illinois authorities revoked his firearm-owner identification card and confiscated several weapons, including the semiautomatic rifle later used in the Waffle House attack.
The confiscated weapons were released to Reinking's father, Jeffrey Reinking, after he said that he would secure them and prevent his son from obtaining them. Jeffrey later returned the firearms to Travis. One of those weapons was a Bushmaster XM-15 rifle, an AR-15-style semiautomatic firearm that Reinking used to murder four people in Tennessee.
Move to Tennessee and Events Before the Shooting
Reinking moved to the Nashville area during the fall of 2017 and found work in construction and crane operation. His behavior continued to concern people around him. He was dismissed from a job on April 3, 2018, after reportedly claiming that coworkers and other people were pursuing him.
On April 18, 2018, four days before the murders, Reinking stole a BMW X6 from a dealership in Brentwood, Tennessee. Police tracked the vehicle through its electronic location system and recovered it near Reinking's apartment complex. Officers entered his apartment and found the vehicle's key, but Reinking was not arrested at that time.
The Waffle House Shooting
At approximately 3:25 a.m. on Sunday, April 22, 2018, Reinking arrived at the Waffle House at 3571 Murfreesboro Pike in the Antioch area of Nashville. The restaurant was open and occupied by employees and late-night customers. Reinking remained in his pickup truck for several minutes before stepping outside with the Bushmaster rifle.
Reinking was wearing only a green jacket when he began shooting. He first fired at people outside the restaurant, killing 20-year-old Joe Perez Jr. and 29-year-old Waffle House employee Taurean Sanderlin. He then approached the building and fired through its windows, sending bullets and shattered glass through the crowded dining area.
Reinking entered the restaurant and continued firing. Twenty-three-year-old Akilah Dasilva was fatally wounded, while 21-year-old DeEbony Groves was killed inside the building. Other customers suffered gunshot wounds, injuries from flying glass or wounds sustained while attempting to escape. Prosecutors later said that Reinking fired approximately 30 rounds in less than a minute.
As the shooting continued, customer James Shaw Jr. hid near the restaurant's restrooms and watched the gunman. When Reinking briefly lowered the rifle, apparently because it had jammed or needed to be reloaded, Shaw rushed toward him. Shaw grabbed the hot barrel, suffering burns to his hand, and fought Reinking for control of the weapon. He pulled the rifle away and threw it behind the restaurant counter.
Shaw's intervention stopped Reinking from continuing to shoot the customers and employees trapped inside the restaurant. Reinking fled on foot, leaving his jacket behind and running from the scene without clothing. Shaw, who had also suffered a bullet-graze injury, helped other people escape and later received widespread recognition for preventing additional deaths.
Victims Killed on April 22, 2018
- Joe R. Perez Jr., 20 — Perez was a customer who was shot and killed outside the Waffle House at 3571 Murfreesboro Pike in Antioch, Tennessee.
- Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29 — Sanderlin was a Waffle House employee who was working at the restaurant when Reinking shot and killed him outside the building.
- Akilah Dasilva, 23 — Dasilva was shot inside the Waffle House and transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died from his injuries on April 22, 2018.
- DeEbony Groves, 21 — Groves was a student at Belmont University. She was killed inside the Waffle House during the attack.
Wounded Survivors
Several people survived physical injuries from the attack. Two victims suffered gunshot wounds, while others were injured by broken glass and debris. James Shaw Jr. sustained a grazing gunshot wound and burns while seizing the rifle. The survivors and other witnesses were forced to endure the sudden violence at close range in the confined restaurant.
The Manhunt
After fleeing the Waffle House, Reinking returned briefly to his nearby apartment, put on a pair of pants and disappeared into the surrounding area. Authorities warned residents that he was armed and dangerous. Schools and businesses in the Antioch area adopted additional security precautions as police searched neighborhoods, apartment buildings and wooded areas.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department led a manhunt involving more than 80 local, state and federal officers. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation placed Reinking on its most-wanted list, while the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Tennessee Highway Patrol assisted in the search.
On April 23, 2018, approximately 34 hours after the shooting, a construction worker reported seeing Reinking near a wooded area not far from the restaurant. Officers entered the area and arrested him without another shooting. Reinking was carrying a backpack containing a loaded .45-caliber handgun, ammunition and other supplies.
Criminal Charges and Mental-Health Proceedings
Reinking was initially charged with four counts of criminal homicide. Prosecutors later filed an expanded indictment covering the murders, attempted murders and firearms offenses connected to the attack.
Mental-health specialists diagnosed Reinking with severe schizophrenia. In August 2018, a judge found him incompetent to stand trial and ordered him committed to a state psychiatric facility for treatment. After receiving medication and evaluation, he was later declared competent to participate in court proceedings.
Prosecutors announced in January 2020 that they would not seek the death penalty. Reinking continued to face the possibility of life imprisonment without parole. His defense did not dispute that he had committed the shooting. Instead, his attorneys argued that his mental illness prevented him from understanding that his conduct was wrong.
Trial and Conviction
Jury selection began in January 2022, and opening statements were presented on January 31, 2022. Reinking entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Jurors heard testimony about the shooting, his conduct before and after the murders, his history of delusions and the opinions of psychiatric experts.
Prosecutors argued that although Reinking was mentally ill, his preparations, actions and flight demonstrated that he understood the nature and wrongfulness of his conduct. They pointed to his arrival with a loaded rifle, his attempt to conceal himself after the attack and his efforts to avoid police during the manhunt.
On February 4, 2022, a Davidson County jury rejected the insanity defense and found Reinking guilty on all 16 charges. His convictions included four counts of premeditated first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, additional attempted-murder charges and firearms offenses.
On February 5, 2022, the jury imposed life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for each of the four murders. Additional sentences were imposed for the attempted murders and firearm convictions. Reinking will remain incarcerated for the rest of his life.
Case Against Jeffrey Reinking
Authorities also prosecuted Reinking's father for returning firearms to him after Illinois officials had revoked his authorization to possess them. Jeffrey Reinking was charged with unlawfully delivering a firearm to a person who was prohibited from possessing one.
In May 2022, an Illinois jury found Jeffrey Reinking guilty. He was later sentenced to 18 months in prison. The prosecution emphasized that he had returned the weapons despite being aware of his son's serious behavioral problems and despite previously assuring authorities that the firearms would be kept away from him.
Aftermath and Legacy
The massacre devastated the families of Joe Perez Jr., Taurean Sanderlin, Akilah Dasilva and DeEbony Groves. Memorials, vigils and fundraising campaigns were organized to honor the victims and assist their relatives. Civil lawsuits were also filed over the circumstances that allowed Reinking to regain access to the rifle.
James Shaw Jr. was praised nationally for confronting the gunman while unarmed. He repeatedly stated that he acted to save himself and the people around him rather than to receive recognition. His intervention ended the shooting before Reinking could fire at more customers, making his actions a central part of the tragedy's history.
The April 22, 2018, attack raised continuing questions about firearm restrictions, the transfer of confiscated weapons and the treatment of people experiencing severe mental illness. The criminal proceedings ultimately established that Reinking was legally responsible for the four murders despite his schizophrenia. His convictions and sentences ensured that he would never be released from prison.
