KXAN-KXAN legal experts told the 32-year-old who believes that the police have killed three people in a parking lot in North Austin on Monday, who is not supposed to have a gun.
According to court records online, Ethan Ninker violently convicted family at the misdemeanor level in 2016.
“When you have a condemnation of family violence, you prevent you from having firearms under federal law for the rest of your life,” said defense lawyer, Benjamin Girgen – who has not participated in this case.
Ninker faces two capital killing charges on the death of 65 -year -old Adam Zhao and his 4 -year -old granddaughter. He also faces first -degree murder on the death of Hector Leopoldo Martinez Machineca, 24. Their pictures below.
Police said Ninker killed Zhao and his granddaughter while stealing their car, and shot Machuka – a targeted employee – randomly while collecting shopping carts.
Ninker’s last arrest was in the province of Travis in 2019, according to court records. The issue of family violence was another attack. He was eventually rejected in 2022 because the courts could not locate the victim.
Police chief Lisa Davis has several times said that Ninker has long struggled with his mental health, and it appears to be suffering from an episode during the attack.
“When we deal with someone who suffers from these problems, where does a person who has this ability to do this happen on a weapon, and when a family member feels comfortable with someone with these issues as a weapon?” Davis said.
Girgen said that while Ninker was not supposed to have a weapon, there is no official tracking system to ensure that persons convicted of crimes do not carry him.
“It is almost impossible for every person,” he said. “So when we ask people in society, if a member of your family has mental health problems, saying what he does does he have weapons at home.”
A lawyer has not yet been listed for Nieneker. KXAN will update this article when it changes.