With the focus on school shootings and methods to address them (armed guards at schools, metal detectors, clear backpacks) being offered as the easiest ways to end them without implementing any common sense gun law reform, it’s a good time to remind Americans that schools are not the only places our children and loved ones can come into contact with a shooter bent on causing as much death and destruction as he can.
29-year-old Travis Reinking opened fire from an AR-15 in a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee, killing four people and injuring more. Reinking fled the scene and remains at large as of 8:18 AM EST.
ABC News reports:
‘Nashville police also announced that they are searching for a person of interest in the shooting whom they identified as Travis Reinking, 29, of Morton, Ill. A tweet from the police said the vehicle that the gunman arrived in at the Waffle House was registered to Reinking.’
BREAKING: 3 persons fatally shot & 4 others wounded at the Waffle House, 3571 Murfreesboro Pike. Gunman opened fire @ 3:25 a.m. A patron wrestled away the gunman's rifle. He was adult & fled on foot. He is a white man with short hair. pic.twitter.com/d1qxRxsGNx
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) April 22, 2018
Waffle House restaurants issued a statement following the shooting:
‘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 … This is a very sad day for the Waffle House family.’
While preventing school shootings is, of course, an issue that must be addressed and needs measurable and immediate action, mass shootings also happen at concerts, in churches, and even in restaurants. The common denominator is powerful weapons and the easy access that people have to them. We put our children and adult loved ones at risk every day that the issue remains under contentious debate, but only lawmakers in Congress have the power to truly put an end to these senseless deaths.
Police search for shooter near Nashville; 4 dead, several wounded at Waffle House: https://t.co/t56ZRWTBBv @ErielleReshef has the latest this morning. pic.twitter.com/Cjg32dzCm0
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 22, 2018
