Who Is Travis Reinking: 5 Things About Waffle House Suspect

MORTON, IL — Two years before authorities believe he opened fire at a Waffle House near Nashville, killing four people, suspected shooter Travis Reinking told police singer Taylor Swift was stalking him. He claimed the superstar had hacked his phone and asked him to meet her at a Dairy Queen. A year before the slayings, he was arrested outside the White House after demanding to meet with the president. Illinois police reports obtained by a Tennessee news station paint a picture of Reinking as troubled, saying his family and others repeatedly expressed concerns about his behavior and suicidal threats.

Though Reinking's criminal record contained only traffic citations, local police reports describe multiple encounters with the Morton, Illinois native.

The Illinois native was apprehended Monday, more than a day after the deadly shooting claimed four lives. Here are five facts to know about the Illinois native.

1. He claimed Taylor Swift was stalking him. In May 2016, a little more than a year before he was arrested for refusing to leave a restricted area at the White House, deputies encountered Reinking in a CVS parking lot after responding to a call from Reinking's worried family. Police said Reinking told them Swift was harassing him, hacking into his phone and Netflix account, and telling him to meet her at a Dairy Queen.

The report said he told police he chased Swift to the roof of a building, but she was gone. He claimed to have proof that the celebrity was stalking him on his phone, but wouldn't show the device to police. "Travis said he did not want to hurt Taylor Swift or anyone else, he only wanted the harassment to stop," the report notes, adding that Reinking told authorities he believed he had autism.

Reinking refused several requests to be taken to an area hospital for evaluation, but was eventually taken into protective custody due to suicidal threats he'd made and taken to Methodist Hospital, according to a police report.

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2. A month before his arrest at the White House, Reinking was accused of jumping into a public pool wearing underwear and a pink women's housecoat, according to police reports. Earlier the same day, he also reportedly had his AR-15 with him on the job at a crane company reportedly owned by his father.

On June 16, 2017, police were called to a park district pool, where the director said lifeguards asked Reinking to get out of the water. Reinking reportedly started yelling at the lifeguards that he was a man before getting out of the pool and showing them his genitals. Police were later contacted by at J&J Cranes saying that prior to the pool incident, Reinking was wearing the pink house coat at work and had an AR-15 rifle in his hand.

Reinking reportedly put the gun into the trunk of his car before leaving the business and did not have it with him at the public pool. "No one at the pool wanted to press charges for anything that happened at the pool so a report was not immediately written," the police report states.

3. He demanded to meet with the president. In July 2017, the Secret Service arrested Reinking after he entered a restricted area at the White House, climbing over a barrier to do so. A spokesman for the Secret Service said Reinking insisted he wanted to set up a meeting with President Donald Trump and refused to leave when asked. Because of his refusal, he was arrested for unlawful entry.

4. Reinking previously agreed to give up his guns — including the weapon used in the Waffle House shooting — but they were given to his father. After his arrest at the White House, Reinking was interviewed by the FBI and local police. The FBI requested that his FOID card be revoked and his guns be seized.

Tazewell County Sheriff Robert M. Huston said Reinking agreed to surrender four guns, including the AR-15, but that his father, who was also present and had a valid FOID card, asked for and was given permission to keep them. Authorities believe the father, identified as Jeff Reinking, later gave the weapons back to his son. Two of the guns were recovered after the Waffle House shooting, but two are still unaccounted for and may be with Reinking, police have said.

After the June 2017 pool incident — a month before Reinking's arrest at the White House — his father told police he had taken three rifles and a handgun from his son and locked them up because Travis was having problems. "Jeff wanted to move out of state so he gave them back to him," the police report reads. Jeff Reinking told police he asked his daughter to talk to Travis and she said she would see if she could store the weapons for safekeeping, according to a police report.

In August 2017, a month after Reinking's White House arrest, police gave him a copy of his FOID revocation and Reinking turned over his Illinois FOID card before assisting police with retrieving his weapons and ammunition. "All weapons and ammunition were released to Jeffrey Reinking which holds a valid FOID card," Tazewell County police reports note. "Jeffrey was advised that he needed to keep the weapons secure and away from Travis. Jeffrey stated he would comply. The FOID card is being sent back to (Illinois State Police). No further action is being taken."

5. Reinking had recently been fired from a job. A Metropolitan Nashville Police Department spokesman said Reinking had been let go from a previous job three weeks before the mass murder but had found new employment. He showed up to the new job on Monday, six days before the shooting, but failed to report to work in the days that followed.

Read more police reports involving Reinking obtained by NewsChannel 5 Nashville.

Photo of Travis Reinking via Metro Nashville Police