Local survivors of Waffle House shooting talk life after trauma

JACKSON, Tenn. — Three local women are telling their story of survival, giving a first-hand account of the day a gunman opened fire inside a Middle Tennessee Waffle House.

“I was in the back seat just on my phone, and she was like, ‘Lexis,’ and I looked up like ,what’s going on,’ and she was like, ‘he is shooting up the Waffle House,” witness Alexis Peeples said.

It’s been over three weeks since the deadly Waffle House shooting, but the vivid images from that day are still alive.

“We were all reuniting again. We haven’t seen each other in so long, so it was like the best day ever to have like the worst night,” witness Chelsey Owens said.

Both Owens and Peeples were outside the restaurant waiting for their friend Kayla Shaw to pay for food.

“The only thing that was going through my mind was trying to find a way to stay alive,” Shaw said.

When the gunshots rang out, Shaw said she had to fake her death in order to save her life, while her two best friends called for help.

“Something just clicked, like ‘call the police,’ and we both got on the phone at the same time, I believe,” Owens said.

All three survived the shooting, thankful to head home alive. “I was probably doing like 80 in a 40 or something,” Shaw said.

Just moments later, they had a second encounter with the alleged gunman, Travis Reinking. The women say they saw him on the side of the road, naked, running away from the scene. The women say although they survived the near-death experience, the possibility of what could have happened is still in their minds.

“I constantly find myself in a daze, thinking like ‘what if,'” Peeples said.

“I don’t know if that’s my anxiety, but everywhere I go now I look for the exit doors,” Owens said. “Make sure I know where the exit doors are, make sure I know a way where I can jump down and hide.”

Shaw says she has her 5-month-old baby girl, Layla, to think about. “She definitely was on my mind, and it was just so scary to just think I wouldn’t be able to go home to her again,” Shaw said.

The ladies say as they recover they are getting stronger every day.

The women say hours after the shooting they spoke with James Shaw Jr., known as the “Waffle House Hero,” at the hospital, expressing gratitude for being brave enough to take the gun from the shooter.

James Shaw Jr. has also created a GoFundMe page for the shooting victim’s families. At last check, he has raised more than $238,000. If you would like to contribute to the fund, click here.