On a sweltering Monday afternoon in Austin, Texas, the parking lot of a bustling Target store on Research Boulevard was thrown into chaos and terror. At 2:15 p.m. on August 11, 2025, police received a frantic call: shots had been fired outside the popular retail destination, a place where families and students were busy with back-to-school shopping. What unfolded in the minutes and hours that followed would leave three people dead, a city reeling, and a nation once again grappling with the persistent specter of gun violence.
According to multiple reports, including coverage by ABC News, The Associated Press, and CBS Austin, the gunman—identified by police as a 32-year-old white male with a history of mental illness and a criminal record—opened fire in the Target parking lot. As Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis explained in a press conference, officers arrived within four minutes of the first emergency call to discover a tragic scene: two adults and one child had been shot. Two victims, an adult and a child, were pronounced dead at the scene by Austin-Travis County EMS, while a third adult died after being transported to the hospital. A fourth person was treated for a minor medical complaint unrelated to the shooting.
Chief Davis, visibly shaken, addressed the media: “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.” She added that police were still working to determine a motive, noting, “We don’t know if there was an altercation or what, at this point we’re looking at video [and evidence].”
The violence did not end with the initial shooting. In a desperate bid to escape, the suspect hijacked a car from the Target parking lot—tragically, the car’s owner was among those killed in the attack. The suspect sped away but crashed the stolen vehicle about a mile and a half away at MoPac and Anderson Lane, as detailed by CBS Austin. Undeterred, he then stole another car from a nearby Volkswagen dealership and headed south, weaving a trail of fear across the city.
Police mobilized quickly, and the search led them to the 2400 block of La Casa Drive in South Austin, approximately 20 miles from the original crime scene. There, officers confronted the suspect, deploying a Taser to subdue him before taking him into custody at around 3:34 p.m. The suspect’s identity has not yet been released to the public, but officials confirmed his background includes a documented history of mental health crises and previous emergency holds—interventions typically used when someone poses a danger to themselves or others.
The aftermath of the shooting was a scene of confusion and distress. Witnesses described the moments of terror as the parking lot erupted into violence. “We saw the first body on the ground and then all the police started swarming in, and it was just chaos,” said Avarian Taylor, a witness interviewed by CBS Austin. “It was just a lot of mental strain, having to see dead bodies and blood and guns—it’s a lot.” Another Target employee, Marco Torres, recounted, “I heard the gunshots loud and clear. At first, I thought it was a huge prank.” The reality set in quickly, and shoppers and staff scrambled for safety, running for their lives toward the store’s rear exits.
Employees and nearby businesses reacted with alarm. At a Jiffy Lube sharing the Target’s lot, staff locked the doors and took cover. Paul Smith, an employee, told The Associated Press, “I had just gotten back from the Target like a minute before.” Lonnie Lee, 22, who had shopped at the Target earlier that day, expressed relief and sorrow: “We got really, really lucky. And some people didn’t.”
Target, the retail giant at the center of the tragedy, released a statement expressing deep sorrow and solidarity with those affected. “We are devastated by the violence that occurred today at our store in Austin, Texas. Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, our team in Austin, and all those impacted by this tragedy,” the company stated, promising to provide grief counseling and support resources to employees and to cooperate fully with law enforcement.
The city’s leadership responded swiftly. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson posted on X (formerly Twitter), “My heart is with the victims and their families. While this remains an active and ongoing investigation, what I’ll say is that this was a sickening, cowardly act of gun violence.” State Senator Sarah Eckhardt, whose district covers much of Austin, noted that the shooting occurred just minutes from a high school and reflected on the broader issue: “While crime is down across our county, our state and our country, mass shootings have become our national nightmare played out in communities every day.”
The timing of the attack—on the eve of the new school year—added to the shock and heartbreak. Parents and children were out shopping for supplies, expecting a routine afternoon, not a tragedy. Advocacy groups, including Moms Demand Action, renewed their calls for legislative action. Nadia Barbot, a Texas chapter volunteer, said, “We deserve to feel safety in our communities, and it’s far past time our lawmakers step up to prioritize safety.”
For Austin, the shooting was the latest in a string of high-profile incidents across the country involving suspects with mental health histories. In the preceding weeks, a stabbing attack at a Walmart in Michigan left 11 injured, and deadly shootings in Atlanta and New York were also linked to individuals with documented mental health crises. According to the Gun Violence Archives, there have been 9,143 gun-related deaths and 269 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2025, underscoring the scale of the problem.
As police continued their investigation—shutting down major roads, scouring surveillance footage, and working to notify families—the community began the slow process of healing. Vehicles left in the Target parking lot were cleared for pickup later that night, but the emotional scars will linger far longer. The city’s residents, still processing the trauma, found themselves asking familiar and painful questions about safety, mental health, and the persistent threat of gun violence in American life.
For now, Austin grieves, its sense of security shaken but its resolve to seek answers and support one another undiminished.