Astrid Chow: Target Shooter Ethan Blaine Nieneker Shot Dead 4-Year-Old Girl in Cold Blood After Making Her Watch Her Grandfather’s Murder

A heartbreaking photo showed the 4-year-old girl who was shot dead by a deranged gunman outside a Target, just moments after witnessing her grandfather’s murder. Astrid Chow was shot dead alongside her grandfather, Adam Chow, 65, in the parking lot of a Target in Austin, Texas, as her grandmother looked on.

The gunman, identified as Ethan Blaine Nieneker, 32, also shot and killed Target employee Hector Leopoldo Martinez Machuca, 24. Police used tasers to subdue Nieneker after he fled the store in northern Austin on Monday and emerged naked from a portable toilet. “She loved singing, dancing, and making us laugh,” the family said in a statement to ABC News.

Killed Her Mercilessly

“We are broken and miss them both so much,” the statement further added. Chief Lisa Davis said at a press conference on Tuesday that Nieneker first “randomly” shot Machuca around 2:15 p.m. while the victim was collecting shopping carts.

The Hawaiian shirt-wearing gunman then fired at a black Jeep that tried to escape his shot before targeting Chow’s gray Toyota 4Runner.

Davis said that Chow was shot while in the driver’s seat, after which Nieneker fired into the back seat, striking his granddaughter Astrid.

As the gravely injured grandfather’s wife, Doris, tried to carry Astrid to safety, Nieneker allegedly forced them out of the vehicle and drove off in it.

Austin homicide detective Nathan Sexton said Nieneker selected his victims “completely randomly” and was armed with a handgun provided by a family member. “He said that he was Jesus and there was no real reason whatsoever given,” he said.

Around 2:20 p.m., Nieneker pulled up beside a water truck parked along the Mopac Expressway, bashed the driver, and dragged him out of the vehicle. He tried to drive off in the truck but failed, instead chasing the driver away at gunpoint before returning to the Toyota.

Five minutes later, he crashed into a Volkswagen, which ended up on top of an Infiniti SUV, then allegedly attacked and carjacked the Volkswagen’s driver.

A Long Chase and Arrest

Nieneker drove that vehicle until about 2:34 p.m., when he tried unsuccessfully to steal a Waymo car and then got back into the Volkswagen. Minutes later, a church acquaintance reported that a brick smashed through his window on La Casa Drive—allegedly thrown by Nieneker.

His spree continued until 2:58 p.m., when he was spotted walking naked through a backyard near the house where the brick was thrown.

He was then seen running into a portable toilet before emerging again. Police found him moments later, still naked and holding a Bible, and ordered him to surrender.

When he refused, officers used tasers and arrested him at 3:06 p.m.

“The investigation shows that Nieneker conducted these violent offenses of shooting at multiple victims, killing three victims, and destroying multiple vehicles, in the span of less than one hour,” police said.

Chow was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:39 p.m., and his granddaughter was declared dead at 2:50 p.m. Doris sustained only minor injuries. Nieneker now faces two counts of capital murder for the killings of Chow and his granddaughter, as well as a first-degree felony murder charge for Machuca’s death.