BREAKING: Travis Reinking apprehended moments ago in a wooded area near Old Hickory Blvd & Hobson Pk. pic.twitter.com/00ukga37s6
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) April 23, 2018
Police in Nashville, Tenn. have announced the capture of Travis Reinking, the gunman accused of killing four people and wounding at least four others at a Waffle House in a neighborhood of southeast Nashville early Sunday morning.
Reinking allegedly shot up the restaurant with an AR-15 rifle, but the attack was halted by Waffle House patron James Shaw, Jr., who seized the weapon from the shooter when he evidently paused to reload. Shaw sustained a gunshot wound and burns to his hands in the process. He’s being hailed as a national hero.
Some gun control advocates will see in the incident a rebuttal to the NRA’s line that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” In this case, a good guy without a gun disarmed the bad guy — a contrast with other recent shootings in which an armed guard or officer was unable to effectively intervene. Meanwhile, NRA supporters will see Shaw’s rapid intervention as evidence that quick action from a bystander is the only way to curtail mass shootings. If only more people like Shaw were armed, they’ll say, those like Reinking would be deterred from committing mayhem.