Waffle House Homicide Victim Had Austin-Area Ties

AUSTIN, TX — One of the victims of a mass shooting at a Waffle House in Nashville this Sunday was from Texas and had family in the Austin area, police said.

Metropolitan Nashville police confirmed that Joe Perez Jr., 20, was from the Lone Star State, according to reports. Trisha Perez, the victim's mother, conveyed on social media the pain she and her family were experiencing after their loved one's death.

"Me, my husband and sons are broken right now with this loss," the woman in Kyle, Texas, wrote on Facebook. "Our lives are shattered." Kyle is 22 miles south of Austin.

According to police, Perez was shot in the parking lot of the restaurant along with Taurean Sanderlin, 29. DeEbony Groves, 21, and Akilah Dasilva, 23, were killed inside the restaurant, according to police. The gunman, Travis Reinking, was arrested Monday following a day-long manhunt after being found in a wooded area near his Nashville apartment complex. He faces four counts of criminal homicide.

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