AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas man who fatally shot three people in a Target parking lot, including a 4-year-old child and her grandfather, was unprovoked and opened fire randomly, police said Tuesday.
Police say a 32-year-old Ethan Nieneker fatally shot a Target worker gathering shopping carts in the parking lot, then killed a man and his granddaughter before stealing their car.
Police Chief Lisa Davis said Nieneker had a history of mental health problems, but said she was unaware of any specific
diagnosis. Austin police Sgt. Nathan Sexton said the victims were chosen randomly.
The violence sent store employees and shoppers fleeing for cover. Police say he stole two cars during the getaway that ended with his arrest on the other side of the city.
Online court records show Nieneker had a history of arrests for domestic violence and assault. He was being held Tuesday on capital murder charges. Jail records do not list an attorney for him.
Nieneker had been arrested several times in recent years in both Travis County, which includes Austin, and neighboring Williamson County.
His arrests in Travis County included misdemeanors 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, according to court records. 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 misdemeanor 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.
Police said that after the shooting, Nieneker stole a car from the store parking lot, wrecked that car and then stole another from a dealership before being captured about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away, in south Austin, where he was taken into custody. Police said offices used a Taser to detain him.
The Target shooting comes just over two weeks after an attack at a Walmart store in Michigan. A man accused of stabbing 11 people at the Traverse City store on July 26 has been charged with terrorism and multiple counts of attempted murder.
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Stengle contributed to this report from Dallas.
