The father of the man accused in the Waffle House shooting has been named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by one of the victim’s families.
The family of Joe Perez Jr. filed a lawsuit against Jeffrey Reinking, father of Travis Reinking, in Tazewell County, Illinois.
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Waffle House Shooting
The lawsuit alleges that Jeffrey Reinking is partially responsible for the attack since he “voluntarily returned one or more of the firearms to Travis Reinking.”
Because Reinking’s Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card had been revoked, he could no longer legally possess firearms in Illinois.
“[The] defendant knew (or reasonably should have known) that his son’s mental status could decline such that he would be at risk for threatening another person with a firearm,” the lawsuit said.
The Perez family's attorney, John Day, released the following statment on behalf of the family.
The family of Joey Perez wants to understand the events giving rise to this senseless tragedy. Part of that inquiry requires learning how - and why - Travis Reinking came to possess the AR-15 assault rifle used to take four innocent lives and injure others. This lawsuit will provide answers to those questions.
The 29-year-old is accused of killing four people inside an Antioch Waffle House back on April 22.
