Three people were killed Monday in a shooting at a Target store in Austin, Texas.
The Austin Police Department said the shooting began around 2:15 p.m. local time in the parking lot at the North Austin location and warned that the “suspect is still at large” and “DO NOT APPROACH.”
News cameras recorded video of customers and employees being evacuated from the store.
Austin-Travis County EMS originally said four patients were being treated. Two were pronounced dead at the scene and the third died at the hospital. A fourth person was treated on the scene for unrelated injuries. It’s unknown if the suspect and victims know each other.
The condition of the injured persons is unknown. It’s unclear what circumstances precipitated the shooting.
The suspect was detained around 3:34 p.m. local time.
APD Chief Lisa Davis told KVUE that the suspect carjacked someone — believed to be one of the victims — in the store’s parking lot and briefly fled before being tracked down. After crashing the car, the suspect stole another car from a Volkswagen dealership before he was tracked down. After being Tazed, he was taken into custody.
The suspect was described only as a white male, possibly wearing khaki shorts and a Hawaiian or floral shirt. Davis said the suspect is a 32-year-old man with a history of mental health issues. No information about the type of firearm used was given.
“This is a devastating situation, and my heart is with the victims and their families,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said on social media. “While this remains an active and ongoing investigation, what I’ll say is that this was a sickening, cowardly act of gun violence. I am grateful for the quick response of our APD officers and other first responders and want to thank them for their actions to apprehend the suspect.”
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