Latest news with #LisaDavis
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Before killing 3 in a Target parking lot, suspect had many run-ins with Texas police
Police scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said Monday that the suspect had 'a mental health history' but did not elaborate. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Online court records show that Nieneker had been arrested several times in recent years in both Travis County, which includes Austin, and neighboring Williamson County. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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. Police monitor the scene near a Target after a shooting in Austin, Texas, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. Stephen Spillman/Associated Press Monday's shooting came as back-to-school shopping was in full swing ahead of the upcoming academic year. An adult and child were pronounced dead at the scene, while another adult died after being taken to the hospital, according to Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. The child's age was not released. 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 away, in south Austin, where he was taken into custody. Police said offices used a Taser to detain him. Davis said they believe one of the people who was shot was the owner of the car stolen from the store's parking lot. 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. ___ Stengle contributed to this report from Dallas.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Target shooting is city's third mass-violence incident this year
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Monday's shooting outside an Austin Target store that left three people dead marked the city's third mass violence incident of the year. Since January, there have been 269 mass shootings in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit that tracks gun-related violence. The organization defines mass shootings as 'four or more' people that are shot or killed in a single incident, not including the shooter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation does not define mass shootings but defines an 'active shooter' as one or more individuals attempting to kill people in a populated area. Mass killings are defined by law as 'three or more people,' according to the FBI. Three killed in Target shooting, suspect detained A KXAN review of the Gun Violence Archive's database found, so far this year, 22 incidents in Texas that it defined as mass shootings, including two in Austin. EXPLORE: KXAN's 'Stop Mass Shootings' project On June 28, four people were shot at 900 E. Braker Lane around 2:25 a.m. The victims sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, according to the Austin Police Department. On March 30, four people were shot inside Lit Lounge at 215 E. 6th Street, according to APD. A suspect was later arrested and charged with aggravated assault mass shooting. 'This is a very sad day for Austin,' said Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis shortly after Monday's shooting. 'It's a very sad day for us all.' Target said it is 'devastated by the violence that occurred' at its store and its 'hearts are with the families and loves ones of those who lost their lives, our team in Austin and all those impacted by this tragedy.' In the wake of the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde in 2022 that killed 21 people, KXAN Investigates launched 'Stop Mass Shootings', a project to provide context and explore solutions surrounding gun violence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Target shooting suspect seen in mugshot
Published: | Updated: The man accused of opening fire outside of a Target in Texas, killing three people, has been pictured for the first time in his mugshot looking bloodied and bruised. Austin Police told the Daily Mail on Monday night Ethan Blaine Nieneker, 32, has been taken into custody in connection with the deadly shooting on Monday afternoon. The department released his booking photograph on Tuesday, showing him staring straight at the camera with several fresh cuts on his face. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said during a press conference on Monday that he stole two cars after the shooting, and wrecked the first one while fleeing from cops. Nieneker was described as white and wearing a Hawaiian shirt at the time of the shooting. He is accused of opening fire at shoppers at the Target store on Research Boulevard in northern Austin, Texas, shortly after 2pm. Police said they received calls about the shooting 15 minutes later and rushed to the scene within four minutes. They found three people bleeding out with gunshot wounds in the parking lot. Medics pronounced two of the victims dead at the scene, while a third died from their injuries while being rushed to hospital. The gunman fled the scene in a vehicle he stole from the parking lot at the Target store, which police said they believe belonged to one of the victims. Davis said he 'wrecked' the car and leapt into another vehicle from a Volkswagen dealership nearby, and continued leading police on a chase. Cops pursued the shooter for 18 miles through the heart of Austin. They caught him in the south of the city where they deployed a taser before taking him into custody. Police Chief Davis told reporters on Monday evening that Nieneker has a history of mental illness and a prior criminal history. Records obtained by the Daily Mail show he has been arrested numerous times since 2011, including an apprehension in August 2015 for assaulting a family member. Nieneker was also previously arrested for driving while intoxicated twice, criminal mischief and a violation of a bond or protective order. A suspected motive for the shootings and the names and ages of the victims have not yet been disclosed. Shoppers and employees at Target said they ran for cover when they heard gunshots ring out in the parking lot. '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.' Meanwhile, at the nearby Jiffy Lube, employees hunkered down and locked the store's doors when they became aware there was a shooting outside. One mechanic, Paul Smith, told Spectrum Local News he saw people running from their cars in the parking lot in a panic. 'I had just gotten back from the Target like a minute before,' he said. A spokesperson for Target also said it will be providing counseling to staff members who experienced the shooting. '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,' the spokesperson said.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Bloodied mugshot of career criminal Ethan Nieneker, 32, who killed 3 during shooting at Austin Target
The man accused of opening fire outside of a Target in Texas, killing three people, has been pictured for the first time in his mugshot looking bloodied and bruised. Austin Police told the Daily Mail on Monday night Ethan Blaine Nieneker, 32, has been taken into custody in connection with the deadly shooting on Monday afternoon. The department released his booking photograph on Tuesday, showing him staring straight at the camera with several fresh cuts on his face. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said during a press conference on Monday that he stole two cars after the shooting, and wrecked the first one while fleeing from cops. Nieneker was described as white and wearing a Hawaiian shirt at the time of the shooting. He is accused of opening fire at shoppers at the Target store on Research Boulevard in northern Austin, Texas, shortly after 2pm. Police said they received calls about the shooting 15 minutes later and rushed to the scene within four minutes. They found three people bleeding out with gunshot wounds in the parking lot. Medics pronounced two of the victims dead at the scene, while a third died from their injuries while being rushed to hospital.
CNN
7 hours ago
- CNN
A child and 2 adults were killed in a shooting that sent Target shoppers scrambling for safety
Three people, including a child, are dead after a gunman opened fire in a Target parking lot in Austin, Texas, before stealing two cars and being captured by police, authorities said. The suspect is a White man in his 30s, with 'a mental health history' and prior criminal offenses, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said in a news conference. Authorities have not released his name. A motive has not been determined and it's not clear what led to Monday's gunfire. The shooting is one in a spate of deadly gun violence in the US. It follows killings in recent weeks at places normally considered safe – a Montana bar, the offices of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and an office building in New York City. In Austin, police were called at 2:15 p.m. and arrived at the Target parking lot where they found three people shot, Davis said. The gunfire erupted during a busy time of year for retailers, with back-to-school shopping underway. Two people died on scene and a third person was declared dead at the hospital, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Chief Robert Luckritz said. A fourth person was treated for non-gunshot related injuries, he added. One of the victims who died at the scene was a child, while the other two victims were adults, said Captain Shannon Koesterer, said a public information officer for the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. The suspect fled the Target parking lot by stealing a car at the scene, then crashed it and stole a second car from a Volkswagen dealership, Davis said. The man was captured about 20 miles away in south Austin after someone called police, Davis said. He was taken into custody after being tased. 'This is a very sad day for Austin. It's a very sad day for us all and my condolences go out to the families,' Davis said. She did not reveal the identities of the victims. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson called the shooting 'a sickening, cowardly act of gun violence.' 'This is a devastating situation, and my heart is with the victims and their families,' he said in a post on X. Target said in a statement it is 'devastated by the violence' at the Austin store and working with law enforcement on the investigation. Lonnie Lee, 22, had visited the Target with her sister and was shocked to see the parking lot was cordoned off and filled with police, she told the Associated Press. 'We got really, really lucky,' Lee said. 'And some people didn't.' At a Jiffy Lube shop that shares its parking lot with the Target, employees locked the doors as soon as they became aware of the shooting. Paul Smith, an employee at the oil-change store, saw people running from their cars in the parking lot in a panic, he told the AP. 'I had just gotten back from the Target like a minute before,' Smith said. Monday's shooting comes just over two weeks after an attack in a Walmart parking lot in Traverse City, Michigan, in which 42-year-old Bradford James Gille allegedly stabbed 11 people in what authorities described as 'random acts.' All victims - ages 29 to 84 - were expected to survive and Gille was charged with one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder. This story has been updated with additional details.
