Authorities have identified the three victims who tragically lost their lives during a violent shooting spree at a Target store in north Austin on Monday, August 11, 2025. The rampage left a grandfather, his 4-year-old granddaughter, and a Target employee dead, with another person injured.

The suspect, 32-year-old Ethan Blaine Nieneker, was arrested Monday afternoon after a chaotic sequence of shootings, carjackings, assaults, and erratic behavior. He was eventually subdued by officers using a Taser.

The victims have been named as Héctor Leopoldo Martínez Machuca, 24, a Target employee; Adam Chow, 65; and his granddaughter, Astrid Fung, age 4. Authorities allege that Nieneker forced the young girl to witness the fatal shooting of her grandfather before also killing her.

According to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, the violence began around 2:15 p.m. in the parking lot of the Target store located at 8601 Research Boulevard. Nieneker allegedly shot Machuca while he was retrieving shopping carts. Moments later, Nieneker fired at a black Jeep attempting to flee and then targeted Chow’s gray Toyota 4Runner. Chow was shot while sitting in the driver’s seat, and his granddaughter was struck in the back seat.

Chow’s wife tried to carry their injured granddaughter to safety, but Nieneker pushed both out of the vehicle, took control of the SUV, and sped away. Around 2:20 p.m., Nieneker approached a water truck along the Mopac Expressway, assaulted the driver, and attempted to steal the vehicle. Unable to operate it, he chased the driver away at gunpoint and returned to the Toyota.

In the following minutes, Nieneker crashed into a Volkswagen and an Infiniti SUV, assaulted the Volkswagen driver, and stole their vehicle. He then unsuccessfully tried to carjack a self-driving Waymo vehicle before fleeing again in the stolen Volkswagen. His rampage continued with acts of property damage, including throwing a brick through a resident’s window.

By 2:58 p.m., witnesses saw Nieneker walking naked through a backyard, after which he fled into a portable toilet. Police confronted him minutes later and took him into custody at approximately 3:06 p.m. after deploying Tasers when he refused to surrender.

Chief Davis confirmed that Nieneker has a documented history of mental illness and an extensive criminal record, including past arrests for assault, DUI, criminal mischief, and violation of a protective order.

Officers arrived at the Target parking lot within four minutes of the initial 911 call. Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while the third died later at a hospital. Chow’s wife survived and is receiving medical treatment.

In response to the tragedy, Target released a statement expressing condolences: “We are devastated by the violence that occurred today at our store in Austin, Texas. Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, our team in Austin, and all those impacted by this tragedy. We are grateful to the first responders who acted quickly at the scene and will continue providing support and grief counseling to our team members.”