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The Waffle House shooting suspect was previously arrested near the White House in 2017, had 4 guns confiscated then returned to him

The Waffle House shooting suspect was previously arrested by the Secret Service in 2017 for being in a restricted area near the White House, authorities said.

  • The suspected nude Waffle House shooter was arrested last year by the Secret Service.
  • Travis Reinking, 29, allegedly killed four people and injured two at a restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, Sunday morning.
  • Reinking's four guns were seized by authorities after his 2017 arrest, but later returned to him.
  • Authorities believe he may still be armed with two guns.

The man suspected of fatally gunning down four people at a Nashville Waffle House on Sunday was previously arrested by the Secret Service in 2017 after allegedly attempting to cross a barrier near the White House, authorities said.

A manhunt was still underway on Sunday evening for 29-year-old Travis Reinking, who authorities believe could be armed with two guns.

Authorities alleged that Reinking fled the Waffle House on foot — and wearing no clothing — early Sunday morning, after a patron heroically tackled him and wrestled away his weapon. The Metro Nashville Police Department warned that Reinking could still be armed and dangerous.

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Police also said Sunday that Reinking's firearms authorization had been revoked after his 2017 arrest, at the request of the FBI. Authorities had seized his four weapons but returned them to Reinking's father, who said he returned them to his son.

A Secret Service agent said the 2017 White House arrest occurred after Rinking attempted to "set up a meeting" with President Donald Trump.

Special Agent Todd Hudson said Reinking attempted to cross a set of bike racks near the White House grounds that formed a component of the security barriers, the Associated Press reported.

Reinking was then asked to leave, refused, and was arrested on a charge of unlawful entry, Hudson said.

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Nashville police said they recovered two of Reinking's guns after Sunday's massacre — including the AR-15 he allegedly brought to the Waffle House, but believe he could still be armed with the two remaining weapons.

The 2017 arrest wasn't Reinking's first brush with law enforcement — police records obtained by media outlets showed that authorities took Reinking to a local hospital for an evaluation after he said he believed Taylor Swift was stalking him.

One police report from May 2016 said that Reinking believed Swift was hacking his phone, and he said he found her at a Dairy Queen in Morton, Illinois, and chased her until she disappeared, The New York Times reported.

Other police records show that Reinking, dressed in a woman's pink housecoat, once threatened someone with an AR-15, according to The Tennessean. The records added that Reinking then drove to a public pool, dove in, and then exposed himself to the other poolgoers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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