(ProsperNews.net) – A woman opened fire in a Texas megachurch and was quickly taken down by armed security. Genesse Ivonne Moreno entered the Lakewood Church in Houston with her young son, dressed in a trench coat and armed with an AR-15 rifle and a .22 caliber rifle, and began firing. A shoot-out with church security ensued, leaving Moreno’s 7-year-old son in a critical condition with a gunshot to the head. A 57-year-old church congregant was also shot in the hip but released from hospital the same day.
The incident occurred on February 11 as the Spanish-speaking church service was getting underway. A 28-year-old Houston police officer and a 38-year-old agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission were both present and off-duty, but they had been hired as private security for the service. It is unclear who fired the bullets that injured the young boy or who hit Moreno in the head, killing her.
Police say one of the suspect’s rifles had the word “Palestine” written on it, and she reportedly has a history of antisemitism, but her connection to the church, or the motive for the shooting, is still under investigation. Moreno has a lengthy criminal record and has been registered in hospitals and medical facilities under both male and female names.
Neighbors told investigators that she had drawn swastikas on her property and frequently taunted local children. Subsequent reports, furthermore, revealed that Moreno had legally purchased the firearms despite her history of crime and mental illness.
Houston police chief Troy Finner said Moreno’s past was “well-documented,” and she was placed in emergency detention for a mental health crisis in 2016. Her mother-in-law, posting on Facebook, said the shooter had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but had recently stopped taking her medication. Nevertheless, she purchased the AR-15 rifle legally in December 2023.
Lakewood Church has one of the largest congregations in the United States and was founded by prominent televangelist Joel Osteen.
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