Waffle House Suspect Told Cops Taylor Swift Stalked Him

Travis Reinking claimed he confronted pop star at Dairy Queen
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 23, 2018 5:36 AM CDT
Updated Apr 23, 2018 6:27 AM CDT
Waffle House Gunman Thought Taylor Swift Was Stalking Him
Police tape marks the apartment building reported to be where Travis Reinking lives in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, April 22, 2018.   (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Alleged Waffle House mass shooter Travis Reinking was still at large early Monday, and Nashville officials say schools will be in "lock-out" mode if he isn't found by the time classes begin, with guests and visitors not allowed into buildings, the AP reports. The 29-year-old, accused of killing four people in a rampage early Sunday, was last seen later in the day in a wooded area near his apartment complex, wearing only pants, say police, who have gone door-to-door in the area and warned residents to be on alert. According to police reports, relatives in Reinking's Illinois hometown say that since 2014, he has been having delusions that Taylor Swift is stalking him and dozens of unknown culprits are hacking into his phone and computer, the New York Daily News reports.

According to a July 2016 police report from Peoria, Reinking told officers he had confronted the singer in a Dairy Queen parking lot. In his version of events, "Taylor climbed up the side of a building and Travis followed. However, when he reached the rooftop, Taylor was gone." In other incidents the next year, after he moved to Nashville, Reinking allegedly threatened a man with a semi-automatic rifle and barged into a community pool and jumped in wearing a pink housecoat. Police say Reinking's weapons, including the AR-15 used to kill four people at the Waffle House, were seized after he was arrested outside the White House last year, the Tennessean reports. The weapons were given to Reinking's father after he promised to keep them away from his son. Police believe the father later gave the four firearms back to his son. (A Waffle House customer managed to wrest the gun away from Reinking.)

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