Shortly after 3:00am this morning a disturbed man named Travis Reinking, 29, of Morton Illinois, walked into a Waffle House restaurant in Nashville Tennessee and opened fire.  Four people were killed and two more injured.

While attempting to re-load his rifle another young man named James Shaw Jr. physically confronted the shooter, grabbed the barrel of the rifle, and incredibly wrestled the gun away from him saving everyone else who was there. A stunning act of heroism.  WATCH briefing:

The shooter, Travis Reinking, remains on the run and potentially armed.  Reinking was arrested last summer at the White House, by Secret Service agents for unlawful entry into a secure area.  As an outcome of his behavior federal authorities revoked Reinking  firearms permit and instructed local authorities to remove his weapons.

“He clearly came armed with a lot of firepower intending to devastate the south Nashville area,” said Don Aaron, spokesman for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

TENNESSEE – Police believe the suspect in a shooting that killed four people at a Waffle House early Sunday could be armed, despite the fact that authorities seized his guns following a 2017 arrest.

Metro police released the details Sunday afternoon, as a manhunt continued for the suspect, Travis Reinking, 29, of Morton, Illinois.

Four of Reinking’s guns, including the AR-15 rifle police said he used Sunday, were seized after he was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service in July 2017 on charges that he was in a restricted area outside the White House.

Following the arrest, his Illinois firearms authorization was revoked. Reinking’s four guns were given to his father, who has said he gave them back to his son, according to the authorities.

[…] The suspect first fired from the parking lot, shooting two men and shattering the glass window at the front of the restaurant before going inside and continuing to pelt the restaurant with bullets, police said.

Three people died at the scene and another died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Police said seven others were taken to area hospitals.

Two patients remained in critical condition at Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon. Two others were treated and released from Southern Hills Medical Center.

Police said that tally could have been much higher if 29-year-old hero James Shaw Jr. had not intervened and wrested the gun away from the suspect.

“You had a citizen step up to intervene with an active shooter,” Aaron said. “He is the hero here and no doubt he saved many lives.”

Waffle House CEO Walt Ehmer praised Shaw in a news conference Sunday afternoon. (read more)

Here’s the Hero, James Shaw Jr. stunning story:

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