Suspect in the Waffle House shooting had his guns taken away for breaking security at the White House.

Waffle House shooter Travis Reinking. Time.

The suspect in a mass shooting at at Tennessee Waffle House had been arrested and had his gun ownership revoked after breaking security at the White House. Time. The police and FBI removed four guns from Travis Reinking, 29, after he was arrested at the White House in a restricted area after trying to meet with President Trump. Reinking's guns were given back to his father, who apparently gave the guns back to Reinking. Reinking shot six people, killing four of them. Reinking was stopped during his attack by a local who wrestled the gun away from him as he was trying to reload, burning his hand in the process. That man, James Shaw Jr, is being hailed as a hero nationally. Reinking escaped from the scene of the crime and is still at large. Reinking may still be armed with a pistol and a hunting rifle. 

My Comment:

I had initially thought about not reporting on this case as I feel the intense media coverage these cases get is a large reason why they happen. I still think this is true but I think there is enough here to justify the risk. The attack brings up quite a few discussion points that should be talked about. 

First of all, the person we should be making famous is James Shaw. The man decided that he didn't want to die last night and instead fought against his attacker. That's a heroic action and one that Shaw should be praised for. Thankfully he's getting some attention and should be more famous than Reinking ever will be. He is rightly being called a hero. 

This is James Shaw. He's a hero. His hands are burned severely from grabbing the assault rifle used to kill four people inside a Nashville Waffle House. He likely saved dozens of lives pic.twitter.com/WV7KQlzA2R

— Chris Conte (@chrisconte) April 22, 2018

I also have said for a long time that when a mass shooter attacks the best thing you can do is fight back. Obviously if you are one of the first people shot there isn't much you can do. But if you do have a chance it's best to take it. Many of these mass shooters aren't confident and will fold at the first sign of resistance. The second Shaw fought back Reinking fled. Sure Shaw burnt his hand on the rifle, but that sure beats getting shot! 

Obviously someone dropped the ball pretty hard with the suspect in this case. The FBI and local Illinois cops, where he lived at the time, quite correctly concluded that Reinking was unstable and should have guns. The man violated security at the White House and who knows what he could have done if he had gotten close to President Trump?

You would think that after that Reinking would have been at the top of the FBI's watch list but apparently he wasn't. The man was able to move and retrieve his firearms and then was able to plot this attack. It's possible that he didn't show any signs of pulling off a mass shooting but it's very clear that he should have been on everyone's radar. Someone crazy enough to be arrested at the White House is worth keeping an eye on.

If the reports that Reinking's father gave him back his guns after the FBI and local cops revoked his gun rights, then we need to throw the book at him. I have long said we should crack down on straw buyers and though this didn't involve a purchase, it's pretty clear that he was providing guns to someone that wasn't legally allowed to have one. If he actually is guilty of giving his son these guns, he needs to be made an example of. We can't allow someone who is giving guns to a dangerous person to get away with it.

I do have to say that it's pretty clear that the attacker had very little idea of what he was doing. It seems as though he was stopped because he had difficulty reloading and that gave Shaw a chance to fight back. Ironically, this is because he chose to use a rifle in a close range situation. Had he chosen a smaller weapon, Shaw would have had a harder wrestling away a handgun.

It also seems that Shaw was shooting rapidly and not taking aimed shots. I can't prove that but the fact that he was able to shoot 6 people with one full mag shows he wasn't exactly taking his time. The fact that Shaw burned his hand also shows that the rifle was heating up very quickly. It makes me think that Reinking wasn't very familiar with his weapon and isn't an experienced shooter. Plus, he fumbled the reload which shouldn't be something that is very hard.

Reinking is still at large and may be one of the most frightening prospects in crime. Mass shooters very rarely get away with their crimes. Most of those cases were bank robberies gone wrong. The idea that someone can shoot six people and then escape from law enforcement is not a comforting one. Given how dangerous he has proven himself to be, not only with the mass shooting but with the White House security violation as well, I hope that law enforcement catches him as soon as possible.