Former MTSU student Akilah Dasilva killed in Waffle House shooting

Photo courtesy of Akilah Dasilva / Instagram

Former MTSU student Akilah Dasilva was one of the victims of the shooting that occurred Sunday at the Waffle House on Murfreesboro Pike in Antioch, Tennessee, according to a Metro Nashville Police press release. Dasilva last attended MTSU in 2013 and was studying computer engineering technology.

The alleged perpetrator of the shooting, Travis Reinking, 29, shot and killed four people with an AR-15 rifle in the incident. According to the MNPD press release, the victims who died in the shooting were positively identified as:

• Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29, of Goodlettsville, an employee of the restaurant who was fatally wounded as he stood outside;

• Joe R. Perez, 20, of Nashville, a restaurant patron who was fatally wounded as he stood outside;

• Deebony Groves, 21, of Gallatin, who was fatally wounded inside the restaurant;

• Akilah Dasilva, 23, of Antioch, who was critically wounded inside the restaurant and later died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The release also states that the two people who were wounded by the shooting and survived were positively identified as:

• Shanita Waggoner, 21, of Nashville;

• Sharita Henderson, 24, of Antioch.

Arrest warrants charging Rienking of multiple counts of criminal homicide have been issued, and efforts to locate the suspect are ongoing, according to the release.

The release also describes the events leading to the shooting based on the investigation so far. Reinking arrived at the Waffle House in his truck at 3:19 a.m. on Sunday, sat in the vehicle for a few minutes and then stepped out of the vehicle, armed with an AR-15 rifle.

Reinking, who was nude except for a jacket, immediately opened fire on Sanderlin and Perez from outside the restaurant. He then went inside and continued shooting. Waffle House patron James Shaw, Jr., 29, then wrestled the gun from Reinking and tossed it over the counter. Reinking then fled the restaurant and shed his jacket, which contained two magazines for the AR-15. Reinking walked south from the restaurant on Murfreesboro Pike.