Adam Chow, 65, male, Asian, was sitting in a car with his wife and 4-year-old granddaughter in the parking lot of the Target at 8601 Research Boulevard in North Austin on the afternoon of August 11, 2025, when violence erupted. According to Austin police, the gunman first shot and killed a Target employee in the lot, then turned to Chow’s vehicle, fatally shooting Chow and his granddaughter while his wife sustained minor injuries.
The attack began around 2:15 p.m., and officers and medics arrived within minutes, but both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators identified the suspect as 32-year-old Ethan Nieneker and described the shootings as unprovoked and random. After killing the employee and the child, police say Nieneker stole the family’s car and fled, setting off a chaotic spree across the city that included crashes, assaults, and property damage before officers captured him in South Austin. Witness accounts and court filings later described erratic behavior, including claims from the suspect that he was “Jesus,” and his arrest while naked and carrying a Bible.
Authorities quickly took Nieneker into custody and initially charged him with multiple counts of murder tied to the three deaths. Within days, prosecutors added more charges stemming from the broader rampage, including aggravated assaults, robbery, attempted murder, and aggravated robbery. He remained in the Travis County Jail; early reports placed his total bond at $2.5 million, later increased to $3.4 million as additional charges were filed, and a mental health evaluation was ordered in the case.
Police records and local reporting named the other victims as Chow’s 4-year-old granddaughter, identified by family as Astrid Fung, and a 24-year-old Target employee, Rosa Martinez Machuca who had been collecting carts when she was shot. Community tributes and fundraising efforts soon followed, remembering Chow as a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and the child as a joyful presence in her family’s life.
