Editor’s Note: Austin Police corrected the original location of the suspect’s arrest. This story has been updated.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police said Tuesday it arrested a man allegedly connected with the shooting deaths of two adults and a child that happened in a north Austin parking lot Monday.
APD named Ethan Nieneker, 32, and charged him with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of capital murder.
In a Tuesday afternoon press release, APD identified the deceased victims as Target employee Hector Leopoldo Martinez Machuca, 24, and Adam Chow, 66. The deceased child was not named by APD but was Chow’s granddaughter. She was four years old.
They are Austin’s 39th, 40th and 41st homicides.
In a Tuesday news conference, APD said the firearm Nieneker used in the alleged shooting was “acquired through family.” Additionally, APD Chief Lisa Davis said during that news conference that the victims Nieneker chose “were random.”
“This man has some serious issues,” Davis said. “I think about the systems that failed in a way as we move forward when looking at this background.”
Throughout the conference, Davis referenced Nieneker’s history with APD multiple times, saying police responded to past incidents for mental health calls.
“There were some serious failures here, on behalf of many, when you’re looking at potentially some mental illness there,” she said. “As we move forward and are looking more into this, it will be interesting to kind of peel that back and see where those failures took place.”
The initial scene
Police responded to 911 calls at 8601 Research Blvd. around 2:15 p.m., according to APD. When they arrived, officers found three people with gunshot wounds in the parking lot.
Austin-Travis County EMS confirmed Monday night that one adult and one child died at the scene of the shooting. Medics took Martinez Machuca to a hospital, where he died, APD’s Tuesday release said. A fourth person, Chow’s wife, was treated for minor injuries, ATCEMS said.
APD’s Tuesday release alleges that Nieneker shot and killed Martinez Machuca at random while the worker was collecting shopping carts.
“I was inside the store, but then I hear on the radio like, ‘shots fired,’ so then they just told us ‘active shooter’ … So we just ran outside. We told guests to get out,” Target employee Freyen Sagastume told KXAN. “I thought that this only happened like in the news and stuff, and then like I kind of just froze at first, but then I saw everyone running.”
APD said after Martinez Machuca was shot, Nieneker allegedly shot at a black Jeep Cherokee before opening fire on Chow’s car. Chow’s wife took the child from the car and was pushed away by Nieneker.
Then, he allegedly stole Chow’s car and drove away “at a high rate of speed,” APD said.
Davis offered condolences to the victims and their families during a press conference Monday evening.
“This is a very sad day for Austin. A very sad day for us all, and my condolences go out to the families,” Davis said. “Our thoughts are with the family. This is a tragic time. Our thoughts are with the officers and EMS and fire who have to come and do the work here at the scene, forensics, everyone that’s doing the scene.”
Davis said Monday evening that Target and APD evacuated customers from the store to a nearby pet supply store.
APD also asked customers to secure alternate transportation away from the scene because cars in the parking lot were part of an active crime scene. APD released the vehicles to their owners at 10 p.m. Monday.
The chase
APD said Nieneker exited the stolen car on the southbound MoPac frontage road near Executive Center Drive, around 2:15 p.m.
A KXAN employee saw a man matching an initial APD description of its suspect near that time and area. At the time, he was walking hurriedly down the frontage road and appeared to attempt to enter a car that slowed as it passed him. That vehicle drove off, and the man ran into a construction site.
APD said around 2:20 p.m., Nieneker allegedly pulled a parked water truck’s driver out of the vehicle before trying to take it. He was unable to operate the truck, APD said, and returned to Chow’s car.
“At approximately 2:25 p.m., APD received the call of a multiple-vehicle crash as the stolen 4-Runner crashed into a Volkswagen before landing on top of an Infiniti SUV,” said the department’s Tuesday press release.
After the crash, Nieneker allegedly “opened the [Volkswagen’s] door and repeatedly assaulted the female driver,” APD said. He then allegedly stole her car and drove away.
“At 2:34 p.m., a suspect matching Nieneker’s description exited the stolen Volkswagen and went up to a Waymo vehicle and attempted to break into it. This failed, and Nieneker returned to the stolen Volkswagen and drove away,” APD said in its release. “At 2:37 p.m., an acquaintance known to Nieneker through bible study reported that Nieneker had thrown a brick through his residence in the 2100 block of La Casa Drive.”
APD received another call around 2:58 p.m. reporting a naked man walking through a backyard in the 2400 block of La Casa Drive. Officers found Nieneker allegedly “walking naked on Montclaire Street.”
APD said the officers deployed a stun gun against Nieneker after he allegedly failed to comply. He was then taken into custody at 3:06 p.m., less than an hour after the first 911 calls.
Officers found clothes matching APD’s initial description inside a portable toilet.