Gunman Kills Three, Including Child, in Austin Target Parking Lot Shooting Before Dramatic Arrest

Police block the entrance to a Target after a shooting in Austin, Texas, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025

A tragic shooting on Monday in Austin, Texas, left two adults and a child dead after a gunman opened fire in the parking lot of a Target store before fleeing and leading police on a chaotic chase across the city. Authorities said the suspect, a man in his 30s with a documented history of mental health issues, killed the three victims around 2:15 p.m. before stealing a car from the scene.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis reported that the suspect crashed the first stolen vehicle and then took another from a nearby dealership. He was eventually captured about 20 miles away in south Austin, where officers used a Taser to subdue and arrest him. The motive remains under investigation.

Responding officers discovered the victims in the Target parking lot. An adult and a child were pronounced dead at the scene, while another adult died at the hospital. A fourth individual was treated for a non-traumatic medical complaint. Davis said one of the shooting victims is believed to have been the owner of the first stolen car.

“This is a very sad day for Austin,” Davis said. “My condolences go out to the families.” No further information about the victims has been released.

Witnesses described moments of panic as the shooting erupted. Lonnie Lee, 22, said she had been at the Target just hours earlier before returning to find the area swarming with police. “We got really, really lucky,” Lee said. “And some people didn’t.”

Employees at a Jiffy Lube sharing the parking lot locked their doors when they learned of the incident. Paul Smith, an employee there, recalled seeing people sprint from their cars in terror, saying he had been at the Target “just a minute before” the chaos unfolded.

The shooting occurred during back-to-school shopping season, prompting Target to announce it would offer grief counseling to employees. “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 company said in a statement.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson called the incident a “sickening, cowardly act of gun violence,” extending condolences to the victims’ families and affirming the ongoing investigation.

The attack comes just over two weeks after a stabbing rampage at a Walmart in Michigan, where a man is accused of injuring 11 people and faces terrorism and attempted murder charges.