US: Shooter kills 3 in Texas Target parking lot.

US: Shooter kills 3 in Texas Target parking lot.

Police said they were still working to determine a motive for the deadly shooting that left three people dead in a Target parking lot in Texas. Investigators are interviewing witnesses, reviewing surveillance footage, and collecting evidence to piece together the events leading up to the attack.

Austin reels after tragic Target shooting: 2 adults, child killed; suspect held

Austin, Texas — A quiet Monday afternoon in Texas’ capital turned into a nightmare when a gunman opened fire in the parking lot of a Target store, killing two adults and a child, before stealing two vehicles and leading police on a tense chase across the city. The rampage, which unfolded just weeks before the start of the school year, left the community in shock and searching for answers.

Authorities said the suspect, a man in his 30s with what police described as “a mental health history,” was eventually captured on the opposite side of the city after officers used a Taser to subdue him.

“This is a very sad day for Austin.

A deadly attack in a familiar place

The upcoming academic year. According to investigators, the suspect opened fire without warning, striking three victims.

An adult man and a child were pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth person was treated for a minor medical complaint that officials said was not caused by gunfire or trauma.

Witnesses described chaos erupting in moments. Paul Smith, an employee at the Jiffy Lube auto service center that shares the parking lot with the Target, recalled how quickly the atmosphere shifted from ordinary to terrifying.

“I had just gotten back from the Target like a minute before,” Smith said. “Then I saw people running from their cars, screaming, ducking for cover. We locked the doors right away. It was pure panic out there.”

The Target store sits in a busy retail area where families often gather, especially in the weeks before school starts.

A violent flight across the city

His escape was short-lived — he crashed that car a short distance away. Undeterred, he then stole another vehicle from a nearby car dealership, sparking a manhunt that stretched across Austin.

Officers tracked him roughly 30 kilometers to the south side of the city. There, they confronted him and used a Taser to bring him into custody without further injuries. Chief Davis said that swift cooperation between local police units and the community helped prevent additional loss of life.

“We got really, really lucky,” she said. “And some people didn’t.”

A community in mourning

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services crews worked alongside police in the immediate aftermath to treat victims and ensure no additional threats remained. But for many first responders, the scene was a grim reminder of the human toll such violence takes — not only on victims and their families but on those who rush in to help.

The identities of the victims have not yet been released, and police said they are waiting to notify all family members.

“This is going to stay with people for a long time,” said one EMS official. “For the families, it’s a lifetime of grief. For the community, it’s a wound that doesn’t heal easily.”

Local leaders and residents have expressed condolences, with vigils already being planned. Faith groups and counselors have offered support to those affected, recognizing the compounded impact of such violence during a season normally filled with anticipation for a new school year.

A troubling backdrop of retail violence

The Austin tragedy comes just over two weeks after another attack in a retail store — this time a Walmart in Michigan, where a man allegedly stabbed 11 people in Traverse City on July 26.

While the two incidents are unrelated, they underscore a disturbing reality: places once considered safe, like supermarkets and big-box stores, are increasingly the settings for mass violence in the United States.

In Austin, residents are left to grapple not only with the loss of three community members but also with questions about how — and why — such violence erupts in the first place.

Moving forward

For now, police continue to piece together the suspect’s movements before and during the attack. Detectives are reviewing store surveillance footage, interviewing witnesses, and combing through the suspect’s history.

Authorities emphasized that they are also exploring what role mental health issues may have played.

Parents in the community are holding their children a little closer. Shoppers are looking over their shoulders. And for many Austinites, the start of this school year will be marked not by the usual back-to-school excitement, but by the memory of a day when violence shattered the ordinary.

As one resident quietly said while leaving flowers near the scene, “We’re just heartbroken. You never think it will happen here — until it does.”