Tragic Shooting at Texas Megachurch: Woman Opens Fire Before Being Killed by Police

A woman entered a church in Houston, Texas, with her 7-year-old son armed with a long gun and opened fire before police killed her. A child was left in critical condition, and another man was shot. Around 2 p.m. on Sunday, the shooting occurred, leading to an investigation into the incident at the popular megachurch led by televangelist Joel Osteen.

Genesse Ivonne Moreno, 36, was identified as the female shooter, wearing a trench coat and carrying a backpack. She pointed at the security officers, who reacted to the emergency immediately and gave her self-defense gunshots. The security officers shot her son in the head, leaving him critically injured in the hospital. 

The authorities have not released details of the incident that led to the firing. The injured man has been identified as Tom George Thomas, with a bullet wound on his leg. He has been discharged from the hospital after treatment.The preliminary reporting also indicated that the message “Free Palestine” was written on the rifle; investigators said later it was just “Palestine.”

“This is just tragic,” Osteen said, emphasizing that the shooting occurred between services. “The church was actually setting up for a Spanish service.” with a criminal record in Louisiana and arrests for crimes including assault, threat to kill, and illegal possession

Further scrutiny into the background of Moreno revealed a series of issues in the past with documented mental health and a history of petty crimes that dotted the years. But despite all her problems, Moreno presented herself on social media as an expert on property and financial services, managing to bring the attention of Lakewood Church to the contributions she had made.