Photo of the four black people shot dead in a Nashville Waffle House by a gunman who remains on the run

Four people were shot dead while several were injured after a gunman armed with an AR-15 went on a rampage at a Nashville Waffle House on Sunday.

The four casualties have been identified as authorities continue to hunt the armed gunman. The Metropolitan Nashville Police released the names of the slain victims on Sunday afternoon. They are restaurant worker Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29, and customers Joe R. Perez, 20, Akilah Dasilva, 23, and Deebony Groves, 21.

Taurean C. Sanderlin

Travis Reinking, 29, stormed the restaurant in Antioch before dawn on Sunday and opened fire with an assault rifle, killing four people before a customer rushed him and wrestled the weapon away.

Joe R. Perez

Police said Sanderlin and Perez were killed outside the restaurant. Dasilva was critically wounded inside and later died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Groves was shot dead inside the restaurant. A number of others were also wounded in the shooting, including Shanita Waggoner, 21, and Sharita Henderson, 24, who were being treated for gunshot wounds at Vanderbilt.

Deebony Groves

James Shaw Jr., the man who wrestled the gun from the shooter, was also grazed by one of the bullets and suffered injuries to his hand after grabbing the barrel of the gun. Shaw said he had only entered the restaurant just two minutes ahead of Reinking after going there to eat when he left a nearby nightclub.

When he heard the gunshots, Shaw said he initially thought they were stacks of plates that had fallen over. Shaw said it was then that he saw restaurant workers scatter and a body near the front door as the gunman burst through the entrance.

Akilah Dasilva

He said: “He shot through that door; I’m pretty sure he grazed my arm. At that time I made up my mind… that he was going to have to work to kill me.

“When the gun jammed or whatever happened, I hit him with the swivel door.”

The gun then jammed up and Shaw said he managed to get one hand on the gun and grab it. He then threw it over the countertop and took the shooter with him out the entrance. Shaw said the shooter then ran away.

James Shaw

Authorities are hailing Shaw a hero. Police are still hunting for the gunman who was spotted walking naked along a road after fleeing the scene. Witnesses said he ran to a nearby apartment complex where he lived and put on black pants before entering the woods barefoot.

Authorities seized Reinking’s weapons following an incident at the White House in July last year when he was arrested by the Secret Service for crossing a security barrier. Police said Reinking had his Illinois gun license revoked last year at the request of the FBI and four of his weapons were seized by authorities in Tazewell back in October.But the guns were eventually returned to Reinking’s father who has since admitted to giving them back to his son. The AR-15 used in the Waffle House shooting was among the four weapons.