NASHVILLE — The $2 million bond for accused Waffle House shooter Travis Reinking was revoked by a Tennessee judge Tuesday, court records show.
A bond hearing was set for Wednesday, according to the order signed by state Judge Michael Mondelli in Davidson County, who did not provide an explanation for his decision. That hearing was later postponed to May 7, an assistant for the judge told CNN.
Reinking, 29, was arrested Monday in connection with Sunday’s attack with an assault-style rifle at the Nashville-area restaurant.
He was initially booked on $2 million bond — $500,000 for each of four criminal homicide charges — according to court records.
Steve Hayslip, a spokesman for Glenn Funk, district attorney general for metro Nashville and Davidson County, said callers flooded their office and the judge’s office.
“I think it’s a great move by the judge to revoke bond,” he said. “I can only guess or assume that he felt the pulse of the community just as we did.”
“The last thing people wanted was for him to be released,” Hayslip said.
On Tuesday, Metro Nashville police said five additional warrants were issued against Reinking, for one count of unlawful gun possession in the commission of a violent felony and four counts of attempted murder. One attempted murder count was for the customer who wrestled the gun away from Reinking, police said.
Authorities are still trying to establish what the suspect did in the 35 hours between the fatal attack and his arrest.
Wearing only a jacket, Reinking allegedly shot and killed two people outside the restaurant in Antioch, Tennessee, then killed two more people inside before James Shaw Jr. wrestled away his gun, police said. Reinking fled the scene naked.
Police swarmed homes and woods near the shooting site, searching for the suspect, who was added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s “Top 10 Most Wanted” list. Someone spotted him emerging from the woods Monday afternoon and phoned 911, Metro Nashville Police said.
It’s not clear what Reinking did while he was at large. The motive for the attack isn’t known.
‘Shocked’ and ‘disorientated’
Reinking was fully dressed and did not resist when a detective drew a gun on him, Lt. Carlos Lara said, adding that he was carrying a backpack with a firearm, ammunition and a flashlight.
Reinking declined to give a statement and requested a lawyer, Lara said.
It was construction worker Lydia French who dialed 911 after seeing a man fitting Reinking’s description, the Tennessean reported.
The man, who’d emerged from the woods near where French was working with her crew, looked “shocked” and “disorientated,” she told the newspaper.
French said the man saw her on the phone and went behind Cane Ridge Elementary School.
“When he seen me on the phone, he kept looking real nervous,” the Tennessean quoted her as telling reporters soon after Reinking’s arrest.
“I’ve got kids,” French said. “I worked out here every day last week with him living right here. All day long, I kept thinking that could’ve been us,” she said.
Nashville public schools had initiated “lockout” procedures while Reinking was on the loose, meaning no guests or visitors could enter public buildings.
Car theft allegation
Police said Reinking visited a car dealership in the Nashville suburb of Brentwood last week and somehow obtained a key fob for a 2018 BMW X6 without providing identification. He stole the car and led police on a brief chase, Brentwood police said.
Using the car’s GPS, officers tracked the car to Reinking’s apartment complex and recovered it. But they didn’t know the thief’s identity, and no one was arrested.
Guns taken after arrest near White House
He was charged with unlawful entry, but the charges were dismissed after he completed community service. At the FBI’s request, Reinking’s Illinois firearms authorization was revoked, and four weapons — including the AR-15-style rifle used in Sunday’s shooting — were seized.
After the firearms seizure, Reinking was legally barred from possessing guns, Matthew Espenshade, an FBI agent in Nashville, said Monday. Authorities in Tazewell County, Illinois, gave the weapons to Reinking’s father, who police believe later returned them to his son.
The father, Jeffrey Reinking, could face charges for transferring weapons to a person knowingly prohibited from possessing them, said Marcus Watson, the ATF’s acting special agent in charge in Tennessee.
Reinking’s grandmother, Marilyn Hopper, said her grandson “was a sick boy” and she was devastated by news of the attack.
“My heart goes out to those people who have loved ones they’ve lost,” she told CNN affiliate WSMV-TV by phone. “I’ve lost two children myself, and I know what that feels like. My heart really does go out to them. But you know, we have a side, too.”
“I’m just so sorry for those people and their loss, and my heart goes out to them,” she said.
