Shooter at Joel Osteen's Church Had History of Mental Illness, Antisemitism
We're learning more about the woman who opened fire inside Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas on Sunday.
Genesse Moreno died when two off-duty officers working at the church returned fire to prevent her rampage.
Her 7-year-old son, who she brought into the building with her, is in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.
Police say the stock of Moreno's gun had a sticker with the word "Palestine," and anti-Semitic writings were also found.
They also believe mental illness is a major factor in the church shooting incident.
"She does have a mental health history that is documented through us, and through interviews with family members," HPD Homicide Commander Christopher Hassig said. "We want to know the motive, how she got the weapon, why she did this, we're not there yet."
Moreno also had a record of arrests, including for assault.
Commander Hassig said, "We do have reports she used multiple aliases, including Jeffery Escalante. She has utilized both male and female names, but through all our investigations talking with individuals, interviews, documents, Houston Police Department reports, she has been identified this entire time as female."
Moreno had also been in a troubled marriage which led to a divorce and a bitter custody dispute.
Her estranged husband, described by ABC News as a registered sex offender who is currently incarcerated in Florida, had described Moreno's mental state in court documents saying, "Jeffrey is a diagnosed schizophrenic, so daily it was a new battle or fight in her realm."
A Houston TV station reports court documents show Moreno and her mother once attended Lakewood church.
Her mother-in-law stated in a Facebook post that Moreno was "a woman with known mental illness." She says that should have triggered "strong red flag laws that would have prevented (her) from owning or possessing a gun."
Meanwhile, due to the targeting of an all-Spanish church service, a judge is asking for the Lakewood Church shooting to be investigated as a possible hate crime.
