Three people were fatally shot at a Target in Austin, Texas, and a suspect has been detained: Police

AUSTIN, Texas — A gunman opened fire Monday in a Target store parking lot in the Texas capital, killing at least three people, then stole two cars during a getaway that ended with police using a Taser to detain him on the other side of the city, authorities said.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the suspect is a man in his 30s with “a mental health history.”

Davis said the suspect fled the scene in a stolen car, wrecked that car then stole another from a dealership. He was captured in south Austin, where he was taken into custody, she said during a news conference.

She said responding officers found three people who had been shot in the Target parking lot.

Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said two people were pronounced dead at the scene and one person was taken to a hospital where they were pronounced dead. He said another person was treated on the scene for unrelated injuries.

“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 said she had no information to release about the victims.

PHOTOS: Police say 3 people were fatally shot at a Target in Austin, Texas, and a suspect has been detained

The shooting came amid back-to-school shopping ahead of the upcoming school year. Target corporate has not responded to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

“This is a devastating situation, and my heart is with the victims and their families,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a message on X. “While this remains an active and ongoing investigation, what I’ll say is that this was a sickening, cowardly act of gun violence.”

At a Jiffy Lube that shares its parking lot with the Target, employees hunkered down and locked the store doors as soon as they became aware a shooting was taking place. Paul Smith, an employee at the auto store, said 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,” Smith said.

The Target shooting comes just over two weeks after an attack at a Walmart store in Michigan. A man stabbed 11 people at the store in Traverse City on July 26 and has been charged with terrorism and multiple counts of attempted murder.

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Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas; Jamie Stengle in Dallas; and Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed.