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Remembering the victims of the Waffle House shooting

The mass shooting at a Waffle House in Tennessee took the lives of four beautiful young people. Shortly after their names were released to the public, tributes started pouring in about DeEbony Groves, Joe Perez, Akilah DaSilva, and Taurean Saunderlin.

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Victims of The Waffle House Shooting

The mass shooting at a Waffle House in Tennessee took the lives of four beautiful young people.

Shortly after the names of the Waffle House shooting victims were released to the public, tributes started pouring in about DeEbony Groves, Joe Perez, Akilah DaSilva, and Taurean Saunderlin where family and friends describe their loved ones as beautiful young creatives and “extremely intelligent”.

Waffle House shooting

The victims were shot by Travis Reinking. The 29-year-old pulled into the parking lot of the Waffle House in Antioch.

Amid the shooting, customer James Shaw Jr. was able to tackle Reinking to the ground, disarming him so that Reinking could no longer shoot. But at that time, Reinking escaped. The suspect had become the target of a manhunt and was added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s top 10 most-wanted list.

He was captured and arrested nearly 34 hours later in a wooded area within sight of the apartment he lived.

Authorities are saying Reinking might of had mental issues and long before he was the “Waffle House Killer,” Reinking had been building quite a rap sheet. Last July, the 29-year-old spoke with an officer of the Secret Service at the White House and said, with urgency, that he needed to meet with and speak with the president. He told the officer that it was his right as a “sovereign citizen,” then proceeded to enter the building. “Arrest me if you have to,” he declared.

Last August, the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office removed four firearms from Reinking’s apartment after he requested to file a report. He told officers that Taylor Swift had been stalking him and that his devices were being tapped, CNN reports. Worried about his mental state, they removed his guns and released them into the custody of his father, who police are now saying may have returned his guns to him. They reportedly only permitted him to take the guns on the condition that he would “keep the weapons secure and out of the possession of Travis.”

Reinking moved to Nashville last fall, according to the Tribune. He allegedly had no clear motive on Sunday morning, he just opened fire. Luckily James Shaw, Jr ambushed Reinking before he could kill anyone else but Tennessee, family, and friends of the victims mourn for them. Those who knew the victims remember their beautiful souls

Waffle House Shooting Victims

Taurean Sanderlin, 29

Waffle House Shooting victims taurean sanderlin
Taurean Sanderlin of Goodlettsville,TN worked as a cook at the restaurant and was killed outside of it. CEO, Walt Ehmer told reporters Sanderlin was a cook for the company for five years. He was new to the Murfreesboro Pike location, which had only been open for five months.

Joe Perez, 20

waffle House Shooting victims joe perez

Joe Perez

Perez was killed outside, after Sanderlin. The Nashville resident’s family is in Texas. Following the shooting, Perez’s mother posted to Facebook, saying “Me, my husband and sons are broken right now with this loss. Our lives are shattered.” The Austin native was working as a subcontractor for Daryl Flood Relocation & Logistics.

Akilah DaSilva, 23

Dasilva
DaSilva was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he ultimately died of his injuries. His friends remember him as multi-talented, great photographer, and an aspiring musician. DaSilva had his eyes set on pursuing a career in musical engineering at Middle Tennessee State University, Shaundelle Brooks told CBS News about her son. “He had a smile that could light up a room and a laugh that would warm your heart.” He was the videographer to know in Tennessee. He was a rap artist and a music producer, widely known as one of the most prominent emerging artists. DaSilva was with his girlfriend at the Waffle House.

DeEbony Groves, 21

debony groves
Groves is remembered as a “brilliant young woman.” The young woman from Gallatin, TN was recognized as a star athlete when she attended Gallatin High School. At her most recent school, Belmont University, Groves was on the dean’s list.

Her high school basketball coach Kim Kendrick said of Groves that she was a “very, very likable young lady. She was one of three seniors on her team, and she was a great role model for the other players because of her hard work and dedicated to her studies and school,” according to CBS News.

Belmont University also released a statement to WTVF-TV. “The entire campus community is shocked and devastated by how such senseless violence has taken the life of this young woman, an individual full of immense potential. We extend our thoughts and prayers to her family and friends as they come to terms with unimaginable grief. Belmont will be offering counseling and other support services to members of our campus in the coming hours and days.”

Groves was in her senior year, majoring in social work.


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Unheard Voices Magazine LLC is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Unheard Voices is an award-winning news magazine that started in 2004 as a local Black newsletter in the Asbury Park, Neptune, and Long Branch, NJ areas to now broaden into a recognized Black online media outlet. They are the recipient of the NAACP Unsung Hero Award and CV Magazine's Innovator Award for Best Social Justice Communications Company.

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Crime & Justice

Arrests made for fatal shooting at Delaware State University

Camay Mitchell De Silva was shot and killed on April 21 while visiting her best friend at Delaware State University.

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Camay Mitchell De Silva
Camay Mitchell De Silva (Photo Source: GoFundMe)

Authorities have announced arrests have been made for the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Camay Mitchell De Silva last month at Delaware State University.

Arrests made in Delaware State shooting of Camay Mitchell De Silva

De Silva was shot and killed by a stray bullet on April 21 while visiting her best friend who attended Delaware State University.

Police announced in a press release that 20-year-old Destry Jones and 18-year-old Damien Hinson, both from Dover, are being charged with the murder of Camay Mitchell De Silva.

The pair are also charged with the attempted murder of two other young men in connection with the April 21 shooting.

Jones was arrested in Brooklyn, New York and Hinson was arrested later that day in Dover, police said.

According to authorities, neither of the suspects in this case are enrolled at or affiliated with Delaware State University.

Police claimed Jones and Hinson were involved in a fight with two other men before shots were fired. Investigators do not believe De Silva was the intended target or involved in the altercation.

Beloved taken too soon

De Silva was a 2023 graduate of Concord High School who graduated with a 3.0. She spent her first semester of college at Morgan State University in Baltimore but decided she wanted to come home to Delaware.

She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.


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Crime & Justice

Paramedic involved in Elijah McClain’s death sentenced to probation, work release and community service

Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.

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Elijah McClain's family to receive $15 million from the city of Aurora
Elijah McClain and Jeremy Cooper (CBS News)

Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.

Paramedic Jeremy Cooper sentenced

He had faced up to three years in prison but was sentenced to four years probation, 14 months of work release and 100 hours of community service.

Cooper and another paramedic, Peter Cichuniec, were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in December in the death of McClain, 23, who was subdued by police and injected with ketamine on August 24, 2019.

Both paramedics had pleaded not guilty to the felony charges. Cichuniec was sentenced in March to five years in prison, the minimum.

Police stop turns fatal

McClain was walking home in August 2019 when the 23-year-old Black man was confronted by police officers who forcibly restrained him. When Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec arrived, they injected him with ketamine.

He went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance a few minutes later and died three days after that.

The McClain family sued the city of Aurora for Elijah’s wrongful death and received a $15 million settlement.


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Crime & Justice

Honor student killed by stray bullet while visiting Delaware State University

A shooting at Delaware State University has claimed the life of 18-year-old honor student Camay Mitchell De Silva.

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Camay Mitchell De Silva
Camay Mitchell De Silva

Camay Mitchell De Silva, of Wilmington, Delaware, was shot and killed Sunday, on the Delaware State University campus.

The 18-year-old was visiting her best friend, a Delaware State student, when the tragic shooting occurred.

She was an honor student

De Silva was a 2023 graduate of Concord High School who graduated with a 3.0. She spent her first semester of college at Morgan State University in Baltimore but decided she wanted to come home to Delaware.

She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.

De Silva often hung out on campus with her best friend to get comfortable before attending DSU.

Delaware State shooting

The family said De Silva was visiting that friend at DSU on Saturday, April 20, and attended a party on campus that night. Around 1:40 a.m. on April 21, DSU Police received a report of shots fired on campus. The responding officers found De Silva in a residence hall suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper body. The officers administered aid and then took her to a nearby hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

Police say De Silva was not the intended target. Dover Police Department Chief Thomas Johnson Jr. told NBC10 there was a dispute that she was not involved in and she was hit by a stray bullet.

The suspects were seen fleeing the area and no arrests have been made, said authorities.

Dover Police released a statement from De Silva’s family requesting time to grieve and to plan for her celebration of life.

De Silva and Mitchell family statement

Photo Source: Dover Police Department Facebook)

They also said they pray for and support the DSU community, law enforcement and the local community as they are “forced to manage this tragedy.”

Delaware State shooting investigation

Dover Police are still pursuing leads in the fatal shooting of Camay Mitchell De Silva.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 302-736-7130 or reach out to Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-TIP-3333.


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