NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — In a deposition, Travis Reinking's father, Jeffery Reinking said he allowed his son to take a gun before moving to Tennessee - the same gun used in the deadly shooting at Waffle House.
The deposition was one of several documents filed in federal court Monday in a lawsuit filed by the brother of Akilah DaSilva. DaSilva was one of the Waffle House victims.
Much of the deposition focused on Travis' move to Tennessee and when or if he had weapons with him.
Police in Illinois revoked Travis Reinking's gun card last summer. That's when his father said he locked the gun away in a safe. However, a few months later Jeffrey received a text from Travis stating he had found an out-of-state apartment and wanted his guns back.
Text messages also filed in court showed Travis' parents reached out to him several times after Travis moved away from illinois with no response: "Mom and I are wondering if everything is ok," Jeffrey Reinking wrote in January. "We haven't heard from you. And we are getting concerned." "Can you please call me?" "Love you. Let me know if [you] need anything."
Jeffrey described his extensive search for his son in Knoxville, with no luck.
Jeffrey said he reached out to the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office for "advice" before he handed the guns over. He would not say what the sheriff's office said. During the deposition, Reinking admitted to opening a safe and giving Travis access to the rifles. When asked if it was the same rifle used to kill victim Akilah DaSilva, the elder Reinking replied "yes.”
