Police: 4 dead, 2 wounded in Waffle House shooting in Tennessee, victims ID'd

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Sunday, April 22, 2018
Multiple dead in Waffle House shooting
Multiple people have died after a gunman opened fire at Waffle House in Tennessee early Sunday morning.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- A person of interest has been identified in a shooting at a Waffle House near Nashville, Tennessee that killed four people and injured two others.

The Metro Nashville Police Department says the gunman arrived in a vehicle registered to 29-year-old Travis Reinking of Morton, Illinois. Authorities are asking anyone with information on Reinking to contact them.

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Nashville police said six people were shot, including the four who died, in the incident at about 3:30 a.m. local time on Sunday in Antioch, Tennessee.

Deadly shooting at Waffle House near Nashville

Police say a suspect armed with a rifle entered the restaurant and opened fire.

Three people died at the scene and a fourth was pronounced dead at the hospital. Two other shooting victims remain hospitalized.

Police have released the names of the four people who died after being shot at a Nashville Waffle House.

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In a news release, Metropolitan Nashville Police identified those killed Sunday as 29-year-old restaurant worker Taurean C. Sanderlin of Goodlettsville, 20-year-old restaurant patron Joe R. Perez of Nashville, and 23-year-old Akilah Dasilva of Nashville.

The statement says Sanderlin and Perez were killed outside the restaurant and Dasilva was critically wounded inside and later died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Deebony Groves, a 21-year-old woman from Gallatin, Tennessee, was fatally wounded inside the restaurant.

Also being treated for gunshot wounds at Vanderbilt are 21-year-old Shanita Waggoner and 24-year-old Sharita Henderson, both of Nashville

Multiple dead in Waffle House shooting. Gray Hall reports during Action News Mornings on April 22, 2018.

Police say a patron was able to wrestle the rifle away from the suspect.

The gunman then fled the restaurant on foot.

Police say they are still looking for the suspect, who was wearing only a green jacket and was otherwise nude at the time of the shooting. They say he shed his coat as he fled.

Police recovered the weapon at the restaurant.

The Waffle House company issued a statement to ABC News:

"We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident. Right now, our first thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we will be there for them in this most difficult time. We are still gathering the details, and so we do not have much information to share. While this is an active investigation, we defer all questions about the incident o the Metro Police in Nashville. Our Senior Vice President, Area Vice President, Division Manager and other members of management are on site now to assist in any way they can. We also have a corporate team on the way from Atlanta. This is a very sad day for the Waffle House family, and we ask everyone to keep the victims and their families in their thoughts and prayers."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.