Naked gunman at large after 4 shot dead

Police are searching for a naked gunman after four people were shot dead and at least three wounded at a Waffle House in the southern U.S. state Tennessee early Sunday.

Two of those who died were fatally shot in the parking lot outside the restaurant near Nashville, and one inside, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said.

A fourth person died at the hospital, according to an ABC News report.

The vehicle that carried the shooter to the site is registered in the name of Travis Reinking, a 29-year-old man from Illinois, who is accordingly identified as the suspect, the police said.

"3 persons fatally shot & 4 others wounded at the Waffle House, 3571 Murfreesboro Pike. Gunman opened fire at 3:25 a.m. (0825 GMT)," the police tweeted earlier.

"A patron wrestled away the gunman's rifle. He was nude & fled on foot. He is a white man with short hair," the police tweeted.

The shooting took place less than two miles (about 3 km) from the mass shooting that killed one and wounded nine at an Antioch church during Sunday morning mass in September.