AUSTIN, Texas — Three people, including a child, were killed when a gunman opened fire at a Target store in Austin, Texas.
Austin Police Chief said the alleged gunman, whose name has not been released, is a man in his 30s and has “a mental health history.” A motive has not been determined, The Associated Press reported.
The man had been on emergency holds in the past, The New York Times reported. That typically happens when a person is in crisis and they’re a risk to themselves or others.
Police were called to the scene around 2:15 p.m. local time and found the three victims in the store’s parking lot. One of the three is believed to be the driver of a car that the alleged gunman stole from the parking lot to get away from the scene.
He stole a second car from a car dealership, but was captured about 20 miles away. Police had to use a stun gun to take him into custody, CNN reported.
One adult and the child were pronounced dead at the scene. The third victim was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
A fourth was treated for non-gunshot-related injuries, CNN reported.
An employee who was inside the store at the time of the shooting said he thought it was a prank.
“I heard the gunshots loud and clear,” Marco Torres said, according to the Times. “At first, I thought it was a huge prank.”
He said he ran to the front of the store “to see what was going on,” but when other employees and shoppers realized what was happening, they began “running for their lives” to the store’s rear exits.
Target released a statement which said that the company was “devastated” by the shooting and was offering grief counseling to employees, the AP reported.
CNN noted that Monday’s shooting came during the back-to-school shopping season.
The shooting came about two weeks after a man was accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart in Michigan. That man was charged with terrorism and several counts of attempted murder, the AP reported.
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