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Tennessee grand jury indicts suspected Waffle House shooter on murder charges

Posted at 2:26 PM, Feb 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-05 14:26:16-05

A grand jury indicted the man accused of killing four people at a Nashville-area Waffle House on four counts of first-degree premeditated murder, according to court records.

Travis Reinking, 30, was also indicted on four counts of first-degree felony murder, four counts of employing a firearm during the commission of a felony and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Tennessee has two types of first-degree murder: premeditated murders and murders exacted during the commission of a felony.

On April 22, Reinking arrived at a Waffle House in Antioch, southeast of Nashville, wearing nothing but a green jacket, according to Metro Nashville Police.

He got out of his pickup, wielding an "assault-type rifle," and fatally shot two people outside the Waffle House, police said. Reinking then went into the diner and continued firing, killing two more people, police said.

The shooting ended when customer James Shaw Jr. wrested the weapon away from the gunman, who fled on foot.

Police launched a manhunt shortly after Reinking fled the restaurant naked. He was taken into custody about 35 hours later when a woman at a construction site in Antioch spotted him in the woods.

Reinking was initially held on $2 million bond, but angry calls flooded the district attorney general's and judge's office. His bond was later revoked by a Tennessee judge.