The car was recovered outside Travis Reinking’s apartment, but police didn’t figure out who stole it until after the restaurant attack

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Days before an assault on a Waffle House restaurant in which four people were killed and four wounded, police had Travis Reinking in their sights.

Alerted to the theft of a BMW from a car dealer, officers decided against a police chase, knowing the car had a GPS device. The car was recovered the same day, outside Reinking’s apartment. But police didn’t figure out who stole it until Sunday, after the restaurant attack.

Waffle House shooting: police arrest man suspected of killing four people in Nashville Read more

Police say the 29-year-old with a troubled past carried out that attack with an assault weapon once taken from him at the FBI’s request.

After a customer wrested the gun away, Reinking escaped on foot. He shed the only item of clothing he was wearing, a green jacket. By the time he was captured in woods nearby, on Monday, police had searched his apartment. They found the key fob to the stolen BMW.

Nashville police Lt Carlos Lara told reporters a detective was tipped to the suspect’s presence by construction workers. Confronted, Reinking lay down to be handcuffed. He carried a black backpack, with a silver semi-automatic weapon and .45-caliber ammunition.

Reinking asked for a lawyer and was taken to a hospital. He was charged late on Monday with four counts of criminal homicide. A judge on Tuesday revoked his initial bond of $2m, pending a Wednesday hearing.

The arrest ended a 24-hour manhunt involving more than 160 officers but it left troubling questions about official responses to months of bizarre behavior before the restaurant attack, including encounters with police in Illinois and Colorado and an arrest at the White House.

In May 2016, Reinking told deputies from Tazewell county, Illinois, that music superstar Taylor Swift was stalking him and hacking his phone. Reinking agreed to go to a local hospital for an evaluation after repeatedly resisting the request, the sheriff’s report said. He made a similar claim about Swift in Salida, Colorado, in March 2017, authorities there said.

Another Illinois sheriff’s report said Reinking barged into a community pool in Tremont last June and jumped into the water wearing a pink woman’s coat over his underwear. Investigators believed he had an AR-15 rifle in his car trunk, but it was never displayed. No charges were filed.

Last July, Reinking was arrested by the secret service after he entered a restricted area near the White House and refused to leave, saying he wanted to meet Donald Trump. Reinking was not armed but at the FBI’s request Illinois police revoked his state firearms card. Four guns, including the AR-15 used in the shootings, were transferred to his father, a procedure allowed under Illinois law.

In August Reinking told police he wanted to file a report about 20 to 30 people tapping into his computer and phone and people “barking like dogs” outside his residence, according to a report.

Play Video 1:12 Nashville shooting 'hero' cries during TV news conference – video

“There’s certainly evidence that there’s some sort of mental health issues involved,” Tazewell county Sheriff Robert Huston said. Huston said Jeffrey Reinking pledged he would “keep the weapons secure and out of the possession of” his son. Don Aaron, a Nashville police spokesman, said Reinking’s father “has now acknowledged giving them back” to his son.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent Marcus Watson said on Monday that the father’s action was “potentially a violation of federal law”. Phone calls to a number listed for Jeffrey Reinking went unanswered.

It is not clear why Travis Reinking moved recently from Morton, Illinois. Swift has a home in Nashville, though it is not her only residence. Police say Reinking worked in construction for a while.

Police said about 20 customers were in the restaurant when Reinking opened fire. Taurean Sanderlin, 29, of Goodlettsville, and Joe Perez, 20, of Nashville, were killed in the parking lot. DeEbony Groves, 21, and Akilah Dasilva, 23, were killed inside before customer James Shaw Jr grabbed the assault weapon.

Shaw, 29, has been hailed as a hero.