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VOA News

Published: 4/23/2018

Police said Monday they have caught the man suspected of shooting six people, four of them fatally, at a chain restaurant in the southern state U.S. state of Tennessee the day before.

Nashville police chief Steve Anderson said Reinking came into the Waffle House with a "lot of firepower," carrying four weapons. Two guns were found at the scene.

A customer at the Waffle House tackled the gunman and tossed the weapons behind the counter before the suspect threw off his jacket and fled naked from the scene.

The U.S. Secret Service said Reinking was arrested in July for being inside a restricted zone near the White House in Washington.

Nashville police said the FBI determined Reinking should no longer be allowed to own weapons and turned his guns over to his father, who allegedly returned the weapons to his son.

Police believe the attack was random and that the suspect may have mental issues.

They are calling James Shaw, Jr. - the young customer who tackled the gunman and grabbed the weapon - a hero who likely saved a lot of lives. Police chief Anderson said Shaw's reaction was "beyond belief." But Shaw is downplaying his actions.

"I was just trying to save my life. I'm no Superman," he quietly told reporters.

Reinking was allegedly armed with an AR-15 assault-style weapon.

"People have had enough of this," Nashville mayor David Briley said. "These kinds of weapons have to come off the street. Period."