The former boss of the suspected Waffle House gunman had previously told the FBI to keep him in custody, after he was arrested for trying to jump the White House fence in July 2017.
Wielding a AR-15, the shooter, 29-year-old Travis Reinking, is accused of killing four people and injured four others at a Tennessee Waffle House early Sunday morning (April 22), while wearing only a green jacket.
However, Reinking has a past of erratic behavior. The FBI called crane company co-owner Darlene Sustrich after the White House incident, to which she said, “We told them, 'Hang onto him if you can. Help him if you can,'” Sustrich told the New York Post.
Reinking has been charged with four counts of criminal homicide. According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, he has also been charged with four counts of attempted murder and one count of unlawful possession in the commission of a violent felony. He is currently being held in a maximum-security facility in Nashville.
After the shooting, Reinking fled on foot, and was eventually apprehended near his apartment. While the police were locating him, though, they searched his apartment and found multiple guns and gun paraphernalia, including a Remington rifle with a magazine, cartridges for different calibers of guns, two rifle scopes and gun cleaning equipment. The 24-hour manhunt included over 160 law enforcement officers.
Sustrich characterized Reinking’s behavior as sometimes paranoid and delusional. He also claimed to be a sovereign citizen both during his White House arrest, and to a former co-worker.
Though Reinking wasn’t armed during the White House incident, the FBI requested that Illinois police invalidate his state firearms card. Four of his guns, which included the AR-15 used in the shooting, were moved to his father’s card, per Illinois law.
While Reinking’s father said he would “keep the weapons secure and out of the possession of Travis,” he did admit that he “has now acknowledged giving them back,” Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron revealed. According to federal officials, his father’s conduct is “potentially a violation of federal law,” the Post reported.
