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Ethan Nieneker: Austin Target shooter was naked, carrying a Bible after firing shots; ‘I am Jesus’
Ethan Nieneker was identified as the man who fatally shot three people in a Target parking lot in Austin on Monday
Ethan Nieneker was identified as the man who fatally shot three people in a Target parking lot in Austin on Monday, police said. The victims included a 4-year-old child and her grandfather. Officials said that Nieneker had a history of mental illness and opened fire randomly. Now, the 32-year-old's alleged Facebook profile has surfaced.
Nieneker killed a Target worker gathering shopping carts, then killed a man and his granddaughter before stealing their car. Police Chief Lisa Davis said he had a history of mental health problems. No specifics were revealed.
“What happened yesterday was an unprovoked and deliberate attack, a deliberate act of violence," Davis said at a news conference.
“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.”
On Tuesday, social media users shared Nienekar's alleged Facebook profile. Hindustan Times cannot verify the authenticity of the profile shared on X.
Mental illness, Bible and Jesus claims
Police confirmed Nieneker was discovered walking naked after abandoning his clothes in a portable toilet. He was carrying a Bible and told officers he was Jesus. When he refused to comply with commands, officers subdued him with a Taser.
The shooter remains in custody on multiple capital murder charges. Jail records show no attorney listed for him as of Tuesday.
Authorities said his criminal history stretches back more than a decade, including arrests in both Travis County and neighboring Williamson County. In Travis County, he faced misdemeanors for criminal mischief and driving while intoxicated, along with three separate felony domestic violence charges. He was convicted in 2016 of assault causing bodily injury in a family violence case and briefly jailed. Another felony assault case in 2019 was dismissed three years later when prosecutors could not find the victim.
Williamson County records list repeated brushes with the law, including two dismissed misdemeanor family violence cases in 2015, a 2012 marijuana possession conviction, and a no contest plea to criminal mischief in 2016.
Monday’s attack unfolded just after 2 PM local time, during peak back-to-school shopping. Police say Nieneker shot and killed three people at the Target on Research Boulevard before stealing a car from the parking lot. After crashing it about 1.5 miles away, he allegedly took another vehicle from a dealership and drove to South Austin. Officers found him roughly 20 miles from the store and arrested him after using a Taser.
