Austin police arrest suspect in north Austin triple homicide

Editor’s Note: Austin Police corrected the original location of the suspect’s arrest. This story has been updated.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police said Tuesday that it arrested a man allegedly connected with the shooting deaths of two adults and a child that happened in a north Austin parking lot Monday.

APD named Ethan Nieneker, 32, as its suspect in the triple homicide case.

As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, Travis County court records haven’t been updated to show what he has been charged with or if he has an attorney yet. Records related to Nieneker show a 2017 conviction on a felony charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

Monday afternoon, APD said that its suspect had a history of “struggles with mental health” and was detained after leaving the scene in a stolen vehicle.

APD said it will hold a press conference around 2 p.m. Tuesday, which KXAN will livestream in this article. More details about the shooting are expected at that time.

What happened Monday

It started just after 2 p.m. when Austin police responded to a hotshot call at 8601 Research Blvd. According to police, officers found three people with gunshot wounds in the parking lot.

Austin-Travis County EMS confirmed Monday night that one adult and one child died at the scene of the shooting. Medics took another adult to a local hospital where they later died, ATCEMS said.

A fourth person was treated for unrelated injuries, ATCEMS said.

Police released a description of their suspect prior to arrest. It described him as a white male who was possibly wearing khaki shorts and a floral shirt. At the time, APD urged the public not to approach the suspect.

Police said the suspect allegedly stole a black SUV and drove away from the scene before crashing on a MoPac frontage road near Executive Center Drive.

A man matching APD’s description was seen by a KXAN employee around 2:15 p.m. At the time, he was walking down the frontage road and appeared to try entering a vehicle that slowed down for him. That vehicle drove off and the man ran into a construction site.

According to police, the suspect then allegedly stole another vehicle.

APD shut down part of the frontage road for a time Monday afternoon. At that location, KXAN saw a crashed SUV at rest on top of parked vehicles.

Officers located and arrested Nieneker in the 2400 block of La Casa Drive after police received a 911 call, according to APD. 

“I believe the subject got out of the car, another person called, I don’t know what the behaviors were at that point,” said APD Chief Lisa Davis during a press conference Monday evening. She also offered condolences to the victims and their families.

“This is a very sad day for Austin. A very sad day for us all, and my condolences go out to the families,” Davis said. “Our thoughts are with the family. This is a tragic time. Our thoughts are with the officers and EMS and fire who have to come and do the work here at the scene, forensics, everyone that’s doing the scene.”

Davis explained that Target customers had been evacuated to a nearby pet supply store for everyone’s safety.

“I was inside the store, but then I hear on the radio like, ‘shots fired,’ so then they just told us ‘active shooter’ … So we just ran outside. We told guests to get out,” said Target employee Freyen Sagastume. “I thought that this only happened like in the news and stuff, and then like I kind of just froze at first, but then I saw everyone running.”

Customers were asked by APD to secure alternate transportation away from the scene because the cars in the parking lot were considered part of an active crime scene. In a social media post, APD said vehicles could be picked up at 10 p.m. Monday.

“We want to empty the store and reunite them and get them out of here if they were not a witness to the scene. But the cars are going to have to stay here until we’re done with the scene,” Davis had said.