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Texas state police on Monday identified the suspect shot and killed by police at Joel Osteen’s megachurch as 36-year-old Genes Moreno, and said the 7-year-old boy injured in the shooting was Moreno’s biological son. did.
Around 1:53 p.m. Sunday, Moreno, armed with an AR-15 rifle, pushed past a security guard and entered the hallway of Lakewood Church with the boy, Houston police said in a news conference Monday.
Over the next 12 minutes, Moreno opened fire in the hallway, fatally wounding two off-duty police officers who were guarding the church, Houston Police Department commanders said. Chris Hassig.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said multiple shots were fired. Police said the boy was wounded by a single gunshot wound to the head, but the shooter who struck him is not yet known.
Hassig said Moreno was pronounced dead at 2:07 p.m. The boy was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital in critical condition.
“All we have to do for him is pray,” Finner said.
A 57-year-old man who was shot in the leg has been released from the hospital, police said.
Hassig said the AR-15 Moreno was carrying had a sticker on the butt that read “Palestine.” Moreno, who was wearing a trench coat and carrying a backpack, was also carrying a .22 caliber rifle. Police believe Moreno legally purchased the AR-15 in December.
Authorities have not released a motive for the shooting. Hassig said Moreno has a “mental health history” documented by the department and his family, adding that he had found “anti-Semitic writings” related to Moreno. Authorities also learned of a “family dispute” between Mr. Moreno, his ex-husband and some members of his family, who police said were Jewish.
Here’s what we know so far about the incident.
Who is Genes Moreno?
Hassig said Moreno used other “false names,” including Jeffrey Escalante.
Moreno’s arrest history dates back to 2005, according to a criminal background check by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Moreno was arrested in April 2022 on a charge of illegal possession of a weapon, according to the Fort Bend County Courts website. Moreno pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor in October of the same year.
Moreno was arrested in 2010 on charges of forgery, marijuana possession and evading arrest, according to court records. Moreno was charged a year earlier with assaulting a public servant and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Moreno is originally from El Salvador and worked in the real estate industry, according to his LinkedIn page.
Shot fired just before service
The gunshots rang out just before Spanish-language services were to begin at the 16,000-seat venue, which was once used as a sports arena. Video from inside the building showed frenzied scenes as many churchgoers ran for the exits, while others took cover under pews.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Finner said at a news conference Sunday.
Moreno claims he has a bomb, police say
The Houston Police Department’s bomb squad searched Moreno’s car and backpack but found no explosives, even though Moreno claimed he had a bomb.
Witnesses reported seeing Moreno spraying “some type of substance” on the ground before firing, but Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said, “We have not found anything that would be of concern to society or this location.”
Finner said Sunday that the church would be cleaned to ensure there was no threat.
Officers engaged in management duties
The two off-duty employees have been placed on paid administrative duties pending the outcome of their respective agencies’ internal investigations, Finner said.
One of the officers, Agent Adrian Herrera, 38, has four years of experience with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The other man is Christopher Moreno, 28, who has been with the Houston Police Department for two years.
Osteen: “I don’t understand why this happened.”
Osteen, one of the most high-profile pastors in the country who presides over services attended by tens of thousands of people, said he was “in a fog” over the shooting. According to the Hartford Institute of Religion, 45,000 people regularly attend services at this church each week, making it the third largest megachurch in the United States. Osteen’s televised sermons have reached approximately 100 countries.
“We’ve been here for 65 years, and someone would shoot up in your church?” Osteen said at a news conference with police. “We don’t understand why this happened. We’re going to pray for that…boy. And we’re going to pray for the woman who died, her family, everyone, and the other gentleman. is.”
He said the church “is going to stay strong. We’re going to keep moving forward. There are forces of evil, but the power for us, the power of God, is stronger.”
Osteen said she’s thankful more people weren’t hurt. “If there’s anything good about it, it’s that she didn’t get in there and she didn’t do more damage,” he said.
Contribution: Associated Press
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