A nude gunman shot dead four people and injured two more in the early hours of Sunday at a restaurant on the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee, police said.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement that the shooting occurred at a Waffle House restaurant in Antioch, a suburb southeast of Nashville, at 3:25 am (0825 GMT).

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

A following statement named 29-year-old Travis Reinking, of Morton, Illinois -- a village located some 450 miles north of Antioch -- as a person of interest. Police said the suspect arrived in a car registered to Reinking .

They added the gunman, who had shed his coat, was last seen walking on Murfreesboro Pike, where the 24-hour diner is located.

Local media citing police on the scene reported the gunman was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle -- a weapon commonly used by mass shooters in the US, where debate over gun control is fierce and shootings are all-too-frequent.

Reports added two victims were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, located in Nashville itself.

AR-15 rifles were used to kill 58 people in Las Vegas last October, while Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz in February opened fire on his former high school with an AR-15 style rifle, killing 17 students and staff members.

In the wake of the Florida massacre, student survivors launched a gun control campaign -- drawing hundreds of thousands to demonstrations -- and businesses including Walmart and Dicktarget="_blank"'>