Lakewood church shooting: Female suspect critically injured her own child

The female shooter, who was killed by security officers in the Lakewood church shooting incident after open firing at the Texas megachurch on Sunday (Feb 11), critically injured her own 7-year-old son, stated the authorities on Monday (Feb 12).

As per the authorities, the woman used an AR-style rifle to open fire inside the church and had a history of mental illness.

The shooter was identified by Houston police as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno, who has also been accused of using both male and female aliases.

In a press conference, Houston Police Commander Chris Hassig said that the investigators after looking at past police reports discovered that Moreno identified herself as female.

Houston police and federal investigators on Monday (Feb 12) said that the motive behind the shooting has not been figured out yet, but they have been investigating a dispute which involves Moreno and the family of Moreno’s ex-husband.

The court documents related to the divorce and child custody indicatethat advice was sought from church pastoral staff by the ex-mother-in-law of Moreno.

Moreno’s mother has been attending the church which is headed by evangelist pastor Joel Osteen.

Lakewood Church's spokesman Don Iloff said that the church staff did not know the shooter and added that no one he knew was familiar with the contact described in the legal filings.

Hassig, along with others, stated that Moreno had a history of mental illness and was kept in emergency detention in 2016.

Antisemitic writings of shooter, “Palestine” sticker on rifle buttstock

In the investigation,officials also found antisemitic writings by the shooter, and Hassig said that Moreno's rifle had a “Palestine” sticker on the buttstock.

He called Moreno a “lone wolf” who was not part of any larger group. “We believe (Moreno) acted alone,” Hassig said.

The police also searched the residence of Moreno on Monday (Feb 12) in Conroe. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said that they have been investigating how Moreno in December legally purchased the AR-style rifle even though she had a criminal and mental health history.

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Moreno had also carried a .22 calibre rifle inside the church, said the police.

Investigators said that Moreno as well as the boy entered the church just before 2 pm local time.

Finner said that Moreno after entering the church started firing and the guards inside the building - Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Agent Adrian Herrera and off-duty Houston police officer Christopher Moreno - retaliated and killed the shooter.

(With inputs from agencies)