Washington, Aug. 12: A gunman opened fire in a Target store parking lot in Austin, Texas killing at least three people and then stealing two cars during a chase that culminated with police using a Taser to detain him on the other side of the city, authorities said on Monday.

According to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, police were called at 2:15pm (local time) and they arrived in under five minutes where the authorities found three people shot in the parking lot. Davis said the suspect, who is now in custody, is a man in his 30s with “a mental health history.”

During a press briefing, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Chief Robert Luckritz informed that two people died on the scene due to gunshots while the third person was taken to a hospital where they were pronounced dead. A fourth person, who was injured due to a non-gunshot related wound, was treated on the scene, AP reported.

The suspect fled after stealing a car but wrecked it later on, and then stole another car from a dealership before he was captured in south Austin where he was taken into custody, Austin Police chief Davis added during a press conference.

Saying that she doesn’t have any information regarding the victims, Davis added “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.”

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson called the shooting “a sickening, cowardly act of gun violence.” In a post on X, Watson said “This is a devastating situation, and 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.

The shooting at Target store parking lot comes two weeks after an attack on a Walmart store in Michigan, where 11 people were stabbed by a man in Traverse City.-Agencies