If mass school shootings weren't enough, America's eating establishments are under attack. Early Sunday morning (April 22) a naked gunman entered a Nashville, Tennessee area Waffle House restaurant and opened fired on patrons.
CNN reported that shortly after 3:15 AM, the gunman and now suspect Travis Reinking, of Morton, Illinois arrived at the restaurant’s parking lot in Antioch, Tennessee in his pick-up truck with nothing on but a green jacket and ammunition in his pockets.
Reinking exited the truck with an assault-type rifle and began opening fire outside of the restaurant, striking and killing two people.
One of the people struck was a restaurant employee who was outside on a cigarette break. The other person struck was a patron entering the waffle house who collapsed at the entrance, according to eyewitness' accounts.
After shooting the people in the parking lot, Reinking began firing shots through the window and proceeded to enter the busy restaurant. There he opened fire once again, unleashing his weapon on the unsuspecting customers, and killing two more patrons. But as searing metal whizzed through the air, slicing through the aroma of syrup and smell of gunsmoke, one patron sprinted toward a swivel door and would emerge a hero.
The real-life hero
In a press conference, according to Metro Nashville Police (MNPD), and confirmed by the would-be hero himself, 29-year-old James Shaw, Jr., had just arrived at the eatery with a friend after a night on the town when the gunman entered.
After recognizing that what he and his friend initially thought were breaking dishes were actually gunshots, James went into flight mode and ran to the bathroom in an attempt to escape the massacre.
While trying to hide, Shaw noticed there was no way to lock himself in the bathroom and began thinking about how to get out alive.
He then was resolved to the fact that he'd have to fight if he wanted to survive.
Seconds later, according to Shaw, the gunman stopped shooting and started fidgeting with the gun. Thinking that the weapon jammed, Shaw saw it as an opportunity to get the upper hand. He ran toward the gunman, jumping and sliding over tables keeping him in his sights, like the Marvel Comics' superhero Black Panther.
As Reinking continued fumbling with the Assault Rifle, with its barrel pointed toward the floor, Shaw tackled him, grabbed the gun with his bare hands and flung it across the counter. He then proceeded to wrestle with the gunman, pushing him outside the door.
The struggled continued on for a few seconds until Reinking wriggled away and took off running. Shaw's accounts were confirmed by those present, law enforcment and first responders.
Shaw is being hailed as a hero by eyewitnesses at the scene, his fraternity brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the FBI, ATF, MNPD, and everyone else. However, that isn’t how he sees it.
I'm not a hero
After calmly detailing the horrific events, Shaw, who went to church after the shooting, then to the briefing, stood smartly-dressed at the podium and with full-throated humility told the media he wrestled the weapon from the gunman to save his own life.
He did not want to be called a hero and repeatedly said he was no “Superman or Terminator” and again, definitely no hero.
Shaw said the main reason he sprung into action was based on self-preservation. He also added that he thought to himself if the shooter was going to kill him “he was going to have to work" to do it. This is what Shaw attributes to his courageous actions.
A gunman with a past
The shooter did not have a Tennessee record of violence, but Travis Reinking is no stranger to law enforcement. In July of 2017, Reinking was arrested by the Secret Service for breaching the exterior security border of the White House. He told the arresting officers his reason for being there was because he had a meeting with the President.
Illinois Sheriffs seized Reinking’s weapons after the White House fiasco and the State revoked his licensure. This prohibited Sheriffs from returning the weapons to Travis so they were released to his family. However, Travis' father gave two of them back to him which is how he was in possession of the rifle at the Waffle House shooting. Police also suspected he was still in possession of at least two more firearms and considered to be armed and dangerous.
A manhunt
When the shooter took off running, after wrestling with Shaw, he discarded his jacket and ran into the nearby woods. Police quickly launched a manhunt for the naked gunman and set out on his trail.
Warrants were also served on the gunman’s home as officials continued their search.
Multiple news outlets reported that Reinking was last seen wearing a pair of dark pants and nothing else. Police believe he returned home to put on clothes and continue his run from authorities.
CNN reported, and the MNPD speculated, that the shooter has mental health issues, based on surfacing information that he made past claims that superstar vocalist Taylor Swift was stalking him. This, of course, was not true. The only ones who stalked him were the police and FBI for this quadruple murder. And fortunately, on Monday (April 23), after more than 30 hours of searching, Reinking was caught and arrested in a wooded area near his home.
So as the Nashville community tries to recover from the devastating shooting and Shaw unsuccessfully tries to fend off heroship, America will be forever grateful to the man who saved the day.
