Waffle House Shooting: $100M Lawsuit Against Accused Shooter, Dad

NASHVILLE, TN — The mother of Akilah DaSilva, a 23-year-old Middle Tennessee State University computer engineering student killed in the April 22 Waffle House shooting, is suing the alleged gunman and his father. Illinois native Travis Reinking, 29, is accused of opening fire at the restaurant, killing four people. Authorities have said his father, Jeff Reinking of Morton, Illinois, returned several weapons — including the the AR-15 rifle used in the massacre — to his son after they were confiscated following an arrest last summer.

Shaundelle Brooks filed suit in Davidson County Circuit Court Wednesday alleging Jeff Reinking returned the weapons despite his "actual knowledge that his son was mentally unstable and posed a severe risk of harm."

The suit claims "as a consequence of Jeffrey Reinking's gross negligence and grotesque recklessness, Mr. DaSilva was brutally and senselessly murdered."

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The crux of the suit is that Jeffrey Reinking knew that the rifle is a deadly weapon capable of killing numerous people quickly and that he knew his son was "mentally unstable" due to numerous documented encounters with police in their hometown of Morton, Illinois, as well as the United States Secret Service.

The suit, filed on Brooks' behalf by Nashville attorneys Daniel Horwitz and Brian Manookian, says that Jeffrey Reinking had taken his son's guns, including the Bushmaster, at least three times between 2016 and 2017 and returned them every time, despite being urged by local law enforcement to keep them locked up and away from Travis, particularly after the latter's Illinois Firearms Owner Identification was revoked by state police at the FBI's request following an incident at the White House, during which Reinking tried to force his way on to the grounds, claiming he had a right to inspect them because he is a "sovereign citizen."

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Local sheriff's deputies seized Travis Reinking's weapons but then turned them over to his father as is allowed by state law. Jeffrey Reinking then reportedly turned them back over to his son before he moved to Tennessee, a state with far laxer gun laws than Illinois.

Furthermore, the civil suit says the Reinking's engaged in a civil conspiracy to circumvent Illinois and federal firearms laws. Brooks seeks $25 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages.

"The purpose of this lawsuit is to honor my son's beloved memory, hold those responsible for his death fully accountable and held ensure that nobody else's family ever has to experience the sorrow and horror that we have," Brooks said in a statement released by her attorneys.

By J.R. Lind, Patch Staff

Photo via Metro Nashville Police