Authorities have located and captured Travis Reinking, the Waffle House Shooter who drew global headlines after he gunned down four innocent people at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee, last Sunday. No motive has yet been discerned for the shooting, and authorities have announced that a Tennessee judge has revoked Reinking’s $2 million bond.
Terror Halted by a Hero
Reinking’s Sunday massacre at the Nashville eatery was brought to an early end by a heroic bystander, James Shaw Jr., who grappled with the assailant before ripping the weapon he used to kill four and injure several others from his hands and throwing it behind the counter of the restaurant. Shaw Jr. sustained injuries during the contestation, having the palms of his hands burned when he grabbed the still-hot barrel of the gun from the shooter’s hands, and he has since been hailed as a hero by international media outlets and citizens around the country.
Shaw Jr.’s heroism didn’t end in the restaurant where Reinking decided to slaughter innocents, however; he also started a GoFundMe page to help the victims of the attack, and quickly surpassed his fundraising goals thanks to the outpouring of support from his fellow citizens. Shaw’s GoFundMe initiative has already raised more than $100,000 for the victims, according to reporting by the Tennessean.
GoFundMe allows anyone to create a fundraising page for virtually any initiative, and is often used by those seeking funding for business endeavors or money to cover the cost of their medical treatment. Shaw Jr.’s selflessness hasn’t gone unnoticed by a grateful nation, though he continues to insist that he’s just an average joe who got caught up in extraordinary events.
“I’m not a hero. I’m just a regular person,” Shaw intoned, per NPR. “I think anybody could’ve did what I did if they’re just pushed in that kind of cage,” he went on to say, having noted that he decided he would force Reinking, the shooter, to “work for it” if he really wanted to take the life of Shaw Jr. and the others in the Antioch, Tennessee Waffle House.
After a tip from a construction worker helped authorities locate Reinking, who had been the subject of a 34-hour manhunt that spanned across the state of Tennessee and involved many license plate lookups, he was taken into custody peacefully, though he was still armed when officials took him in. Neither Reinking nor any legal counsel representing him have issued any statements, and he has been charged with four criminal counts of homicide.
Reinking’s peculiar criminal history includes a 2017 incident that saw him arrested outside of the White House for trespassing in an off-limits area, and Illinois police records obtained by the Tennessean indicate he has threatened others with firearms before. The shooter reportedly believed he was being stalked by the famous musician Taylor Swift, and authorities are continuing their investigation into his possible motives.
Those interested in donating to James Shaw Jr.’s GoFundMe efforts to support the victims of the shooting can contribute through GoFundMe’s verified payment systems.
