A Texas man is facing capital murder charges after a “random” shooting spree. Ethan Nieneker allegedly opened fire in a Target parking lot in Austin. The victims included a grandfather and his young granddaughter who had just left the store. As they got in their car and prepared to pull away, Nieneker allegedly fired into the vehicle before stealing it. He then used it to make his escape from the parking lot. Now, their family is left to mourn their lives while Nieneker finds himself in jail.
Around 2:15 p.m. August 11, 2025, the Austin Police Department began to receive calls about multiple shootings at a local Target, KVUE reported arriving minutes later. At the scene, officers found 24-year-old Hector Leopoldo Martinez Machuca shot in the parking lot. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead at 3:01 p.m.
In the parking lot, police also found 65-year-old Adam Chow, his wife, and their 4-year-old granddaughter. Chow and his granddaughter were declared dead on the scene at 2:39 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. respectively. Chow’s wife only had minor injuries.
Police say 32-year-old Nieneker ran up to Chow’s Toyota 4-Runner after shooting Machuca, according to KVUE. He reportedly first shot Adam Chow as he sat in the driver’s seat before turning the gun on the girl, who was sitting in the back seat. Chow’s wife carried the girl from the car, and Nieneker allegedly pushed her before taking the car and driving out of the parking lot.
The Chow family released a statement to ABC News, calling Adam Chow the “heart and steady backbone of our family.” Granddaughter Astrid, 4, was “pure silliness and joy. She loved singing, dancing, and making us laugh,” the statement read. She referred to her grandfather as her beloved “GongGong.”
“We are broken and miss them both so much,” the release added.
“What happened yesterday was an unprovoked and deliberate attack, a deliberate act of violence,” Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference as reported by the Associated Press. “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.”
According to Davis, Nieneker had a history of mental illness but she is unaware of a diagnosis or how much his mental illness factored into the killing spree. “There were some serious failures here,” she said.
Sgt. Nathan Sexton said the choice of victims was “completely random,” AP reported.
Within an hour of the shootings, Nieneker tried to steal a water truck, caused multiple vehicle crashes, and stole another vehicle, per AP. He allegedly also tried to take a self-driving Waymo car and threw a brick into the home of an acquaintance.
Police officers found the man walking naked down the street, having ditched his clothes in a portable toilet. He was also holding a Bible. “He said that he was Jesus,” Sexton said.
Nieneker has been charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of first-degree felony murder.
