On February 11, 2024, a
shooting occurred at
Lakewood Church in
Houston, Texas, perpetrated by 36-year-old Genesse Moreno.
Shooting
Witnesses at
Lakewood Church stated that they heard multiple shots fired around 2:00 pm CST, the start time of the Spanish-language services.[3][4]
The shooter, Genesse Moreno, claimed to have a bomb in her backpack, but no bomb was subsequently found.[5][6] She also sprayed "some type of substance on the ground".[7] She shot a 47-year-old man in the leg, wounding him.[8][5][9]
Moreno said "Stay calm, all I need is help",[10] then proceeded to fire more rounds.
Two off-duty officers, serving as security at the church, killed Moreno after she pointed an AR-15 at them. Moreno's seven-year-old son was shot in the exchange of gunfire.[6] The child was taken to the
Texas Children's Hospital in critical condition.[5] Moreno was shot and killed four minutes after entering the church.[10]
Reports of a second shooter caused some alarm among Houston residents, leading police to evacuate businesses in the commercial district. Police confirmed that there was no second shooter.[11]
The wounded 47-year-old man was released from the hospital by February 12.[6] The seven-year-old had a portion of the
frontal lobe of his brain surgically removed,[12][13] and had his breathing tube removed after 13 days.[14] His grandmother Rabbi Walli Carranza urged people to "demand that no one’s
second amendment rights overtake an innocent child’s inherent right to life".[14]
Police confirmed the following day that they identified the shooter as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno (August 21, 1987[15] – February 11, 2024).[16] Moreno was raised in
Conroe, Texas, and had both a
criminal record and documented
mental health issues.[6][17] Carranza, her ex-mother-in-law, said that she had
schizophrenia that caused her to become violent,[18] and claimed that "What was needed for years was a collaborative mental health and law enforcement response".[10] She legally obtained her weapon in December 2023; Carranza criticized the lack of a
red flag law.[18]
Carranza unsuccessfully petitioned for
conservatorship of Moreno's son, the injured child, in 2022.[19]
As of February 19, 2024[update], no motive is known.[6] Police confirmed that Moreno's AR-15–style rifle had a "Palestine" sticker on it and claimed that
antisemitic writings had been discovered.[20][21] According to the
Anti-Defamation League, Moreno had made multiple comments propagating
anti-semitic conspiracy theories, praising
Osama bin Laden, and promoting terrorist organizations.[22]
Moreno previously used the alias Jeffery Escalante; although she at no point was identified as anything other than a cisgender female, her use of this alias caused
far-right commentators, including
Libs of TikTok and
Fox News,[23] to spread
misinformation claiming that the shooter was a
transgender woman.[24][25][26] Fox News later edited its article to remove the claim.[23] Republican politicians, including
Ted Cruz,[27]Donald Trump Jr.,[27]Marjorie Taylor Greene,[23] and
Josh Hawley[23] promoted the claim. This continued an ongoing trend of conservative commentators claiming that the LGBT community is to blame for increasing gun violence in America.[27] However, this claim contradicts statistics that trans people are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence.[23][24]
Responses
Lakewood Church asked people to "pray for Lakewood and our community".[8]Joel Osteen, its pastor, said: "Of course, we're devastated. We don't understand why these things happen. We're going to pray for the 5-year-old little boy, the lady who is deceased and the other gentleman. We're going to stay strong and continue to move forward."[5]