Nude gunman kills three at restaurant in US

A nude gunman shot dead three people and injured at least four more in the early hours of Sunday at a restaurant on the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee, police said.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement that the shooting occurred at a Waffle House restaurant in Antioch, a suburb southeast of Nashville, at 3:25 am (0825 GMT).

“A patron wrestled away the gunman’s rifle. He was nude & fled on foot. He is a white man with short hair,” the statement added.

A following statement named 29-year-old Travis Reinking, of Morton, Illinois — a village located some 450 miles north of Antioch — as a person of interest. Police said the suspect arrived in a car registered to Reinking.

They added the gunman, who had shed his coat, was last seen walking on Murfreesboro Pike, where the 24-hour diner is located.

Local media citing police on the scene reported the gunman was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle — a weapon commonly used by mass shooters in the US, where debate over gun control is fierce and shootings are all-too-frequent.

Reports added at least one victim was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, located in Nashville itself.