A police officer searches the grounds of a Target store on August 11, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Three people have died after a gunman opened fire in the parking lot of a Target store in north Austin. The suspect has been arrested after being detained by police in south Austin.
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It’s been one year since a gunman opened fire in the parking lot of a North Austin Target, killing three people and spurring a cross-city search to find and detain the suspected shooter.
Following the shooting, the Austin Police Department leveed eight criminal charges against the suspected shooter. Here’s everything we know about the case, and where criminal proceedings stand one year later.
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Timeline of August 2025 shooting outside North Austin Target
On August 11, 2025, the Austin Police Department fielded a 9-1-1 call around 2:15 p.m. regarding a shooting outside the Target store located at 8601 Research Blvd., Austin, TX 78758. Approximately four minutes later, police officers arrived on scene, where they discovered three people had been shot.
Austin-Travis County EMS medics arrived around 2:23 p.m. and began performing life-saving measures on the victims. Two people — one child and one adult — died on scene while another adult was taken to an area hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries. That adult patient later died at the hospital. Medics transported a fourth patient for “minor medical complaints, not caused by traumatic injuries.”
Police work at the scene of a shooting at Target on Research Parkway in Austin, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025.
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Preliminary investigation findings revealed the suspected shooter, later identified as Ethan Nieneker, stole a Toyota 4-Runner from the Target parking lot following the shooting and fled from the scene. Police said Nieneker then tried to steal a water truck in the 7800 block of North MoPac Expressway, assaulting the driver in the process before returning to the stolen Toyota 4-Runner.
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Officials said Nieneker then allegedly caused a multi-vehicle crash while driving the Toyota, assaulting the driver of a Volkswagen involved in the crash before stealing the car and driving away. After stealing the Volkswagen, police claimed Nieneker tried to steal a nearby Waymo vehicle, before ultimately driving in the stolen Volkswagen to South Austin.
Once in South Austin, the alleged suspect ended up in the 2100 block of La Casa Drive, at the residence of a Bible study acquaintance. Nieneker allegedly threw a brick through a window of the home, prompting the acquaintance to recognize Nieneker and call police.
At 2:58 p.m., police received a 9-1-1 call about a naked man wandering in the 2400 block of La Casa Drive, running into a porta-potty before fleeing the area. Police discovered Nieneker along Montclaire Street off South Lamar Boulevard, using a stun gun on him to take him into custody.
Police work at the scene of an accident near North MoPac Expressway Service Road and Executive Center Drive in Austin, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, that was connected to the fatal shooting at Target.
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Identifying the suspected shooter, victims of the shooting outside Target
On August 12, 2025, the Austin Police Department identified the suspect in the triple homicide as Ethan Nieneker, then 32. Upon his initial booking, Nieneker faced three charges: capital murder by terror threat or other felony; capital murder of a person under 10 years old; and first-degree murder.
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That same day, police confirmed the identities of the three people killed in the shooting:
Rosa Machuca, 24, a Target employee
Adam Chow, 65
Chow’s granddaughter, 4 (name not released since she was an underage victim)
During that same briefing, police confirmed Nieneker had been found naked and holding a Bible, claiming “he was Jesus.” Investigators said at the time the shooting appeared to be random. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said Nieneker had both a criminal history and noted mental health concerns, adding there were “serious failures” in the lead up to the shooting.
“This man has serious issues,” Davis said.
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Law enforcement investigates a shooting at Target off Research Boulevard, near Ohlen Road in Austin, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025.
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Austin Police levee 8 charges against Ethan Nieneker
After originally facing three charges, that total charge count jumped to eight more than a week following the shooting. Inmate records supplied by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the following charges had been added to the initial three:
Two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
One count of robbery
One count of attempted murder
One count of aggravated robbery
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Next steps in criminal proceedings for suspect linked to Target shooting in Austin
A search of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office’s inmate records on Monday, August 10 confirmed Nieneker remains in the Travis County Jail. According to Travis County criminal court records, a notice of indictment was issued on November 4, 2025, and an arraignment hearing is schedule for August 20 in the 331st Criminal District Court.