WWTBAM Bored

There is something very very very very wrong here. In 2017, Travis Reinking, the alleged Waffle House shooter, was arrested in Washington DC on trespassing charges for entering the White House grounds. As a followup to the arrest Illinois sheriff's officials confiscated the gun used in the Waffle House shooting and three other guns owned by Reinking and revoked his Illinois gun permit. Yet somehow, they returned the guns to Reinking's father who apparently gave the murder weapon back to Reinking (who is still on the loose and may have one or more of the other weapons).

What's ironic is that if Reinking had been driving a car, he might have had the car confiscated and depending on the nature of the charges filed against him, he or any of his relatives might have had to jump through considerable legal hoops to get the car back. But returning guns to the father of someone who is already on the law enforcement radar is a different story.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 541581002/

SSS wrote: Reinking's father who apparently gave the murder weapon back to Reinking

Did you read the entire article you linked to?

How he managed to reacquire weapons after Illinois law enforcement determined he was not legally allowed to possess any is being investigated.

Perhaps the son stole the guns without the father's knowledge. Perhaps the father is now dead because the son killed him to get to the guns. It is "being investigated" because it is not known.

BackInTex wrote:

SSS wrote: Reinking's father who apparently gave the murder weapon back to Reinking

Did you read the entire article you linked to?

How he managed to reacquire weapons after Illinois law enforcement determined he was not legally allowed to possess any is being investigated.

Perhaps the son stole the guns without the father's knowledge. Perhaps the father is now dead because the son killed him to get to the guns. It is "being investigated" because it is not known.

Other articles have been more specific, such as this one from CNN:

In August, the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office seized four firearms and ammunition from Reinking's apartment along with his state firearm owners identification, according to an incident report. Officers gave the firearms and ammo to Reinking's father, who said he would keep them away from his son, the report states. "The officers did not believe they had any legal authority to withhold the weapons," said Tazewell County Sheriff Robert Huston on Sunday. "We need to be on solid legal ground in order to seize someone's property."

Investigators now believe that Jeffrey Reinking returned the guns to his son. Of those four weapons, one was the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle recovered from the shooting scene at the Waffle House. Another firearm was recovered Sunday from Reinking's one-bedroom apartment. The two other guns could still be in Reinking's possession, police said. Authorities are warning the public to keep their doors locked and eyes open while he is on the loose.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/23/us/travi ... index.html

I had read in a couple of places that the father returned the guns to the son (I did say "apparently"). When I looked for a citation, I grabbed the URL of the most recent article I could find talking about it.

Don't we already know those guns would have shot somebody no matter who had them?

Seriously, this guy apparently had something seriously wrong with him. Why is the focus automatically on the guns? He could have snapped with a kitchen knife, or a bomb or a car. When are we going to focus on the person rather than the gun? Why are some people committing random mass murders at a seemingly increasing rate, regardless of the weapon used? What is causing it, and how can we stop it?

flockofseagulls104 wrote:Don't we already know those guns would have shot somebody no matter who had them?

Seriously, this guy apparently had something seriously wrong with him. Why is the focus automatically on the guns? He could have snapped with a kitchen knife, or a bomb or a car. When are we going to focus on the person rather than the gun? Why are some people committing random mass murders at a seemingly increasing rate, regardless of the weapon used? What is causing it, and how can we stop it?

Because he wouldn't have been able to stab four police officers through a plate glass window in a matter of seconds with a kitchen knife. Easily acquired guns make sick people a lot deadlier than they need to be. --Bob

Bob78164 wrote:

flockofseagulls104 wrote:Don't we already know those guns would have shot somebody no matter who had them?

Seriously, this guy apparently had something seriously wrong with him. Why is the focus automatically on the guns? He could have snapped with a kitchen knife, or a bomb or a car. When are we going to focus on the person rather than the gun? Why are some people committing random mass murders at a seemingly increasing rate, regardless of the weapon used? What is causing it, and how can we stop it?

Because he wouldn't have been able to stab four police officers through a plate glass window in a matter of seconds with a kitchen knife. Easily acquired guns make sick people a lot deadlier than they need to be. --Bob

That's your counter argument, bob-tel? How many people he COULD have killed? He could have killed many more with a car driving down a crowded Nashville sidewalk. That's not the point. The point is why he felt he needed to commit a mass murder in the first place. He chose to use guns. If he didn't have a gun available, would he have used something else? I don't know, and neither do you. Why did he choose guns for his compulsion? Could it be because of the way they are portrayed in video games, movies, TV? Normal people can handle that. They know the difference between fiction and reality. But is there some sort of mental illness that blurs the lines between video game violence and real life? I don't know the answer to these questions, but I really think our answers to this falls in this area rather than obsessing on guns.

I am betting Waffle House, which serves awful food, as does its closest competitor Huddle House, is not happy for the free advertising about "Waffle House shooter".

And to another topic, no, people don't know that that what they see in fictional shows isn't real. I know a heartbreaking example.

ghostjmf wrote:And to another topic, no, people don't know that that what they see in fictional shows isn't real. I know a heartbreaking example.

No, that's not accurate. SOME people don't know that what they see in fictional shows isn't real. What can we do about it without 'punishing' the people who know the difference?

ghostjmf wrote:I am betting Waffle House, which serves awful food, as does its closest competitor Huddle House, is not happy for the free advertising about "Waffle House shooter".

Waffle House serves GREAT food when you're in the mood for Waffle House food. No need to be snobby.

flockofseagulls104 wrote:

ghostjmf wrote:I am betting Waffle House, which serves awful food, as does its closest competitor Huddle House, is not happy for the free advertising about "Waffle House shooter".

Waffle House serves GREAT food when you're in the mood for Waffle House food. No need to be snobby.

This is scary. Flock and I are agreeing on something.

They have awful decaf coffee. I don't eat grits. Anything else I've had there was really bad (I was with friends who insist its the only thing open late in their town, & they would know.)

I am not a food snob. I like good "regular" i.e. Americana food as well as Szechuan, Thai etc.

ghostjmf wrote:They have awful decaf coffee. I don't eat grits. Anything else I've there was really bad (I was with friends who insist its the only thing open late in their town, & they would know.)

I am not a food snob. I like good "regular" i.e. Americana food as well as Szechuan, Thai etc.

Well, I guess you are right then. I better not eat there anymore.

And even the salads at Arby's are stale. But you, & my brother, may continue eating there if you really wanna.

ghostjmf wrote:And even the salads at Arby's are stale. But you, & my brother, may continue eating there if you really wanna.

Thank you. I wish they'd get some here in Washington State.

ghostjmf wrote:They have awful decaf coffee.

There is no other kind.

flockofseagulls104 wrote:

ghostjmf wrote:And even the salads at Arby's are stale. But you, & my brother, may continue eating there if you really wanna.

Thank you. I wish they'd get some here in Washington State.

There are four in Tucson and eleven in Phoenix. I've never eaten at one in Arizona.

ghostjmf wrote:And even the salads at Arby's are stale. But you, & my brother, may continue eating there if you really wanna.

That's what you get for buying a salad at Arby's. They have the meats!

ghostjmf wrote:I am betting Waffle House, which serves awful food, ...

A few people must disagree with you, since their annual sales are estimated to be $750M to $1B. There are so many people represented by those numbers that they must include repeat customers.

Estonut wrote:

ghostjmf wrote:I am betting Waffle House, which serves awful food, ...

A few people must disagree with you, since their annual sales are estimated to be $750M to $1B. There are so many people represented by those numbers that they must include repeat customers.

I lived in ATL for several years and somehow managed to never eat at Waffle House. I was an IHOP girl, all the way.

tlynn78 wrote:

Estonut wrote:

ghostjmf wrote:I am betting Waffle House, which serves awful food, ...

A few people must disagree with you, since their annual sales are estimated to be $750M to $1B. There are so many people represented by those numbers that they must include repeat customers.

I lived in ATL for several years and somehow managed to never eat at Waffle House. I was an IHOP girl, all the way.

Damn Yankee!

Bob Juch wrote:

tlynn78 wrote:

Estonut wrote:A few people must disagree with you, since their annual sales are estimated to be $750M to $1B. There are so many people represented by those numbers that they must include repeat customers.

I lived in ATL for several years and somehow managed to never eat at Waffle House. I was an IHOP girl, all the way.

Damn Yankee!

I prefer "citizen of the world"

Estonut wrote:

ghostjmf wrote:I am betting Waffle House, which serves awful food, ...

A few people must disagree with you, since their annual sales are estimated to be $750M to $1B. There are so many people represented by those numbers that they must include repeat customers.

When the winter storms diverted me into an overnight stay at Atlanta last month, I had brunch at a Waffle House. I think it was my first experience there. The food tasted fine, but the menu seemed pretty heavy on greasy foods that I haven't been able to handle particularly well since I had my gall bladder out a few years ago. --Bob

Waffle House grease is the best.

Bob78164 wrote:

Estonut wrote:

ghostjmf wrote:I am betting Waffle House, which serves awful food, ...

A few people must disagree with you, since their annual sales are estimated to be $750M to $1B. There are so many people represented by those numbers that they must include repeat customers.

When the winter storms diverted me into an overnight stay at Atlanta last month, I had brunch at a Waffle House. I think it was my first experience there. The food tasted fine, but the menu seemed pretty heavy on greasy foods that I haven't been able to handle particularly well since I had my gall bladder out a few years ago. --Bob

I produce too much bile since my cholecystectomy so greasy food doesn't bother me. Whatever the Waffle House uses on their hash browns is delicious.