Nashville mayor calls for gun reform after Waffle House shooting

The acting mayor of Nashville, Tenn., called for stricter gun control laws after a gunman killed four people at a Waffle House early Sunday morning.

“For a moment, let’s be honest about what happened,” David Briley (D) said at a news conference. “Last night, innocent Nashvillians were terrorized by a man with an AR-15. Let’s be honest. Some people see these weapons as having a purpose of terrorizing other people. It’s happening too much. Enough is enough.”

It has only been seven months since the last mass shooting in Nashville, Briley said.

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“We need comprehensive gun reform to address mass shootings, domestic shootings, accidental shootings and homicides,” he said. “If we can all just come together for this and for the greater good, we can take these weapons of war off the streets of our country.”

Shortly after 3 a.m., 29-year-old suspected gunman Travis Reinking stormed a Waffle House in Antioch, according to police.

Reinking allegedly sat in his car for up to four minutes before using an assault-style rifle to fatally wound two people outside the restaurant, police said.

He then allegedly entered the restaurant and opened fire, shooting a total of six people. Two more people have died in the incident. A customer at Waffle House rushed the gunman, who then fled the scene, according to reports.

Reinking, from Morton, lll., was  arrested by Secret Service in 2017 for being in a restricted area near the White House.

His weapons, including the AR-15 reportedly used in the Waffle House shooting, were seized by authorities in 2017 after his arrest and, according to police, later given to Reinking’s father, who has said he returned them to his son.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced on Sunday that Reinking has been added to the state’s Top Ten Most Wanted List. 

Tags Gun control Mass shooting nashville Nashville Waffle House

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