Police said Monday they have caught the man suspected of shooting six people, four of them fatally, at a chain restaurant in the southern U.S. state of Tennessee early Sunday.
"At 1:07 this afternoon, Travis Reinking was taken into custody in a wooded area near here," Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron told reporters in a news conference near the Waffle House Monday. "He will be booked on four counts of criminal homicide."
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Travis Reinking, immediately requested a lawyer and refused to make a statement after his arrest, according to Nashville police, who added that he was carrying a handgun and ammunition in his backpack at the time.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders commended the bravery of a customer at the restaurant who wrestled the gun out of Reinking's hands, likely saving many lives before the suspect fled the scene.
"The president offers his condolences to the victims and their families. He is monitoring the situation, and the White House is in regular contact with state and local officials," Sanders told a regular White House press briefing Monday.
Reinking was reportedly wearing a green jacket and nothing else when he shot six people at a Waffle House near Nashville.
Nashville area schools opened under lockout procedures Monday morning after being cleared by local officers.
“Yesterday was a horrible day for the city of Nashville. It brought home a real tragedy to this community," Nashville mayor David Briley told a press conference Monday. "Today is the day where we can start to move on as a community. I hope, but I hope everybody will share a commitment I have to help the families who’ve lost their loved ones, and who are still suffering in the hospital right now. We’re going to have to gather around them and lift them up over the coming weeks.”
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.
WATCH: Waffle House shooting
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.
Officials believe Reinking may have mental health issues, and have not identified a possible motive for the attack.
Local officials 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. Anderson said Shaw's reaction was "beyond belief."
