Texas Target shooter Ethan Blaine Nieneker was photographed trying to hijack truck while fleeing after executing one store staff, as well as a grand father and his granddaughter on Aug 5

Ethan Blaine Nieneker, 32, is charged with two counts of capital murder in shooting Adam Chow, 65, and his granddaughter Astrid, 4, who were sitting in their family SUV

He is also charged with first-degree felony murder of target employee Hector Leopoldo Martinez Machuca, 24, the first victim who was shot collecting trolleys

The gunman pulled Chow’s wife Doris Chow, 66, out, then fled in the stolen vehicle to continue his one-long rampage that took three lives and destruction of multiple vehicles

Nieneker was photographed shortly after fleeing Target as he futilely attempted to pull the driver out of a truck, while brandishing a handgun, at a construction site in north Austin

Suspect who has a history of mental illness and prior criminal history including drugs and assault, has not disclosed motive as his state of mind at the time is being investigated 

Shortly after Ethan Blaine Nieneker, executed three perfect strangers at a Target in Austin, Texas, he was spotted stealing a water truck during his getaway from the mass shooting scene

A mass-shooting suspect tried to hijack a water truck minutes after gunning down three people in the parking lot of a Target store in Austin, Texas, during an hour-long ‘manic’ episode on Monday.
Having fled the scene of his carnage, Ethan Blaine Nieneker was photographed by a passing motorist dramatically stealing the truck at a construction site in north Austin on Monday.
32-year-old Nieneker dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and fluorescent blue and yellow-patterned shorts can be seen leaning out of the cab, balanced on the step with one hand holding onto the door while the other clutched a handgun pointed at a worker, as he tried to make a getaway on the Mopac Expressway.

A bloodied Ethan Blaine Nieneker is seen in his booking photo at the Travis County Jail, staring straight at the camera with several fresh cuts on his face

He allegedly attacked the driver whom he tried pulling him out of the truck and failed. Instead he resorted to chasing the truck driver away with his pistol before returning to the Volkswagen.
Minutes earlier he allegedly shot dead Adam Chow, 65, and his granddaughter Astrid, 4, along with 24-year-old Target worker Hector Leopoldo Martinez Machuca.
Adam Chow was shot first as he sat in the driver’s seat alongside his wife Doris, 66 in the family’s SUV, as their 4-year-old granddaughter Astrid watched from the backseat. 
Nieneker is then accused of turning his weapon towards Astrid, shooting the little girl at point blank range.
The shooter and his victims had no connections, investigators say.

Astrid, 4, with her grandfather Adam Chow, 65, whom she called ‘GongGong’. They were shot dead within seconds of each other by a stranger on August 11, outside a Target in Austin

As the gunman shoved Doris Chow out of the family’s grey Toyota 4-Runner, she pulled Astrid from the car in a futile bid to find help that could save her granddaughter. However, the little girl succumbed to her injuries shortly after.  
Nieneker sped away from the crime scene, before trying to switch cars to the water truck.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis alleged at a press conference that Nieneker ‘randomly’ shot Machuca, his first victim, about 2.15pm as he collected trolleys.

Victim Adam Chow [left] was killed along with his granddaughter during the Target store shooting. The gunman pulled his wife Doris, [second left], out of the family’s SUV before fleeing in the stolen vehicle

The randomness of the attacks was emphasized by Homicide detective Nathan Sexton who explained that Nieneker chose his victims ‘completely randomly’ firing a handgun given to him by a family member.
‘He said that he was Jesus and there was no real reason whatsoever given,’ Det. Sexton said.
After his aborted attempt to steal the truck, he crashed into a Volkswagen about 2.25pm, then allegedly attacked and carjacked the Volkswagen driver.
In flight in the hijacked vehicle, Nieneker around 2.34pm, tried to steal a self-driving Waymo car. He failed in that attempt and got back in the Volkswagen.

Youngest Victim: Astrid [photo], 4, died after being shot at point blank range by Nieneker while sitting in the backseat of her grandfather’s car

Victim: First casualty was Target staff Hector Leopoldo Martinez Machuca, [photo], 24, who was shot dead on Monday while collecting trolleys

Minutes later, a church acquaintance of Nieneker claimed a brick came flying through the window of his house on La Casa Drive thrown by the fleeing murder suspect. The ‘psychotic’ episode continued until 2.58pm when Nieneker was spotted walking naked through a backyard down the street he’d bricked a house.
He was seen running into a ‘porta potty’, then running away again before police found him, still nude and holding a Bible, and demanded he surrender.
When he refused, police fired their tasers and he was arrested at 3.06pm. Hector Leopoldo Martinez Machuca, Adam Chow were pronounced dead at the scene at 2.39pm. His granddaughter at 2.50pm while Doris only suffered minor injuries. 
‘Nieneker conducted these violent offenses of shooting at multiple victims, killing three victims, and destroying multiple vehicles, in the span of less than one hour,’ police said.

After his shooting rage in a parking lot Nieneker [photo], then fled from the Target to South Austin, where he was apprehended by police after a 20 mile car chase

The ‘crazed’ suspect was charged with two counts of capital murder for Chow and his granddaughter. He also faces first-degree felony murder of Machuca.
His booking photo at the Travis County Jail showed the alleged killer staring straight at the camera with several fresh cuts on his face. Det. Sexton said Nieneker gave no motive for the shooting and his state of mind at the time was still being investigated.
‘We’re still looking into the drug portion of it. He could have been under the influence of narcotics, it might not necessarily be all attributed to mental illness, so we’re still investigating all of that,’ he said. 
Davis admitted there were failures by authorities to follow up on reported mental health episodes which may have prevented the tragedy.
‘This man had some serious issues, and I think about the systems that failed… there were some serious failures here,’ she said.

Triple-homicide suspect shooter Nieneker, [photo], has a history of mental illness and prior criminal history that includes drugs and assault, police said. How he got a weapon from a relative is being investigated, and could lead to charges

Nieneker who lives alone, worked at a nearby restaurant, had two emergency mental health detentions of up to 72 hours in 2018, but was not committed either time, police said. The Austin Police Chief on Monday evening revealed that he has a history of mental illness and prior criminal history that includes charges for drugs and assault. 
How Nieneker got the gun, which he left in Chow’s car, from a relative is being investigated, and could lead to charges against his family.
‘Where does someone with this capacity to do this get a weapon and when does a family members feel comfortable giving someone with these issues a weapon?’ Chief Davis wondered.

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