Texas shooter who killed 3 outside Target randomly chose victims, police say

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AUSTIN, Texas — A random shooting outside a Target store in Texas began when a gunman killed an employee collecting shopping carts then a man and his 4-year-old granddaughter, sparking a chaotic hour of stolen cars and crashes that ended with him arrested naked holding a Bible, police said Tuesday.

Ethan Nieneker, 32, is charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of murder over Monday’s shooting in Austin. Court records show a series of past arrests for domestic violence and assault.

“What happened yesterday was an unprovoked and deliberate attack, a deliberate act of violence,” Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference. “Innocent lives were taken in broad daylight, in a place where people should feel safe to run their everyday errands and to live their everyday lives.”

The police chief said that although Nieneker had a history of mental health issues, she was unaware of any specific diagnosis. Sgt. Nathan Sexton said the firearm Nieneker used in the attacks was acquired through family.

After shooting the Target employee, Nieneker shot the grandfather as he sat in the driver’s seat of his sport utility vehicle, then fatally shot the little girl in the back seat before stealing the vehicle and driving away fast, police said.

“It was a completely random choosing of the victims,” Sexton said.

Police said the Target employee, Hector Leopoldo Martinez Machuca, 24, was taken to a hospital where he died. Adam Chow, 65, and his granddaughter were pronounced dead at the scene while Chow’s wife sustained minor injuries. The name of the child was not released.

Over the next hour, Nieneker tried to steal a water truck at a construction site, caused multiple vehicle crashes, wrecked Chow’s vehicle and then stole a Volkswagen he’d crashed into, police said. He also tried to break into a Waymo self-driving vehicle, threw a brick through the home of an acquaintance and walked naked through a backyard.

Officers found Nieneker walking naked on a street after he ditched his clothes in a portable toilet, police said. He was holding a Bible and was subdued with a Taser when he would not comply with demands.

“He said that he was Jesus,” Sexton said.

Police received multiple 911 calls as the suspect made his way across the city.

Chris Ferran said he was driving on a highway when he saw an SUV fly past him, then smash into two vehicles and keep going. “I’m not letting anybody get away with this, so I chased him down and called 911,” he said.

Ferran watched as the driver pulled into a construction site, got out of the SUV and ripped a worker out of a water truck. Ferran said the SUV’s driver, who was clad in what looked like swim trunks and a Hawaiian shirt, was in the truck for a while. So Ferran started shooting a video.

But when the man got out of the water truck, Ferran realized he had a gun.

“As soon as I saw that, I threw the phone down and I reversed and I was trying to get us out of there,” said Ferran, who had his two daughters with him.

Jail records did not list an attorney for Nieneker on Tuesday.

Online court records show Nieneker was arrested several times in recent years in both Travis County, which includes Austin, and neighbouring Williamson County.

His Travis County arrests include misdemeanours for criminal mischief and driving while intoxicated, and three arrests on felony domestic violence charges. He was convicted of a charge of assault causing bodily injury family violence in 2016 and briefly sentenced to jail.

Another charge within days of the 2016 episode was dismissed. It was not immediately clear if those two charges were related. Another charge of felony assault on a family or household member in 2019 was dismissed three years later when prosecutors could not locate the victim.

Williamson County records show repeated run-ins with law enforcement, including two cases of misdemeanour family violence in 2015 that were later dismissed. He was also convicted of possession of marijuana in 2012 and entered a no contest plea to a charge of criminal mischief in 2016.

Monday’s shooting came as back-to-school shopping was in full swing ahead of the upcoming academic year. It also comes about two weeks after an attack at a Walmart in Michigan in which a man stabbed 11 people. The suspect has been charged with terrorism and multiple counts of attempted murder.

— Stengle contributed to this report from Dallas. Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this story from Kansas City, Mo.