A man wearing nothing but a coat shot and killed four people while three others were injured at a Waffle House in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, police say.
Police received a call at 3:25 a.m. ET Sunday morning about a shooting at the Waffle House in Antioch, Tenn., a suburb of Nashville, police spokesperson Don Aaron said.
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When officers arrived, they found three people dead, while another died later in hospital. Two others were shot and injured, while local reports say that two other people were injured after being hit by glass from the restaurant windows.
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Chuck Cordero said he was waiting in his car outside the restaurant for things to slow down when he witnessed the shooting.
“I got out of my car to go inside and as I got out, this lunatic in a pickup pulled up, he got out with an assault rifle wearing only a jacket, nothing from the waist down, really just craziness,” Cordero told CBS News. “He shot a customer who was about to go in the door and then he shot my friend who was trying to get away on the sidewalk. And then he fired a few shots through the window. And then he went inside and opened fire inside.”
The gunman then paused, allowing another customer to wrestle the weapon away from him.
“Another patron, who had tried to flee the gunfire, saw that (the gunman) was struggling or apparently looking at his rifle. At that point the patron rushed him and was able to pull the gun away from him and toss the gun across the counter,” Aaron said.
WATCH: Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office say they have records of Waffle House shooting suspect Travis Reinking surrendering firearms to his father, but have no information after that.
Cordero called the customer “a hero” for stepping in to take the weapon off the gunman.
Twenty-nine-year-old James Shaw Jr. has been credited as the man who pulled the gun away from the shooter. Shaw said he saw an opening to tackle the gunman and took it.
“Another patron, who had tried to flee the gunfire, saw that (the gunman) was struggling or apparently looking at his rifle. At that point the patron rushed him and was able to pull the gun away from him and toss the gun across the counter,” Aaron said.
Cordero called the customer “a hero” for stepping in to take the weapon off the gunman.
WATCH: ‘They’re in our yard’: Nashville resident films police searching for Waffle House shooter
“There’s a hero,” Cordero said. “I don’t know what his name was but when this gentleman stopped to reload or stopped to do something with his gun he took an opportunity and wrestled with this guy until the gun went flying and then the dude took off running.
He added: “Had that guy reloaded there was plenty more people in that restaurant who could have not made it home this morning.”
Aaron said witnesses saw a man in a nearby wooded area, and police dogs were tracking the man, some six hours after the 3:25 a.m. shooting.
Police announced they were seeking to speak to Travis Reinking, of Morton, Ill., a person of interest in connection to the shooting. Nashville PD told reporters Sunday afternoon that Reinking first became known to authorities in July, 2017 after being detained by the U.S. Secret Service for being in a restricted area near the White House.
At that time, his Illinois firearms authorization was revoked at the request of the FBI, and four weapons were removed from his custody. However, the guns were returned by authorities to Reinking’s father. The Illinois Sheriff’s Office currently isn’t aware of how Reinking came to repossess the guns.
As a result, one of the guns seized from Reinking in 2017, the AR-15 semi-assault rifle, was used in the Waffle House shooting Sunday morning. The same rifle was used in the mass shooting at a Parkland, Fl., high school that left 17 dead this past February.
Police also confirmed that Reinking was wearing a green jacket and nothing else at the time of the shooting, which he then shed, leaving him nude. However, before fleeing police, Reinking reportedly stopped at his apartment and retrieved a pair of pants.
Police said he was named as a person of interest because the pickup truck that the gunman used to drive to the restaurant is registered to Reinking.
Reinking may have been spotted by a civilian following the shooting at a Woodline behind his apartment. The civilian described him as a “shirtless man.”
Police posted a photo of the shooter’s rifle on Twitter.
WATCH: A woman describes the police presence as they search for the gunman.
Police have not suggested a motive for the incident.
According to police, the suspect is still at large, and may be armed with two additional guns as well as ammunition.
Nashville Mayor David Briley said the shooting represents “a tragic day” for the city.
“My heart goes out to the families & friends of every person who was killed or wounded in this morning’s shooting. I know all of their lives will be forever changed by this devastating crime,” Briley wrote on Twitter.
Pat Warner, director of public relations and external affairs for Waffle House, told ABC News it is a “very troubling” situation.
“We are sending our corporate team from Atlanta and heading to Nashville now,” Warner said. “Our thoughts are with those affected.
READ MORE: Woman killed, 8 worshippers injured after gunman opens fire in Nashville church
The shooting occurred at a restaurant in Antioch, which is a suburb of Nashville.
In September 2017, a church in Antioch was also the scene of a shooting, where a woman was killed and eight worshippers were injured after a gunman opened fire.
* With files from The Associated Press and Jessica Vomiero
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