Law enforcement sources say the woman who opened fire in Joel Osteen's Houston megachurch with a 5-year-old boy in tow had the words "free Palestine" written on the AR-15 she used to carry out the shooting, ABC News reported.
The shooter, who news outlets identified as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno, opened fire, prompting two off-duty officers to fire back and kill her. The boy she was with was wounded in the crossfire and taken to a hospital in critical condition. A man believed to be a parishioner at the church was shot in the leg.
CNN, which first reported the "free Palestine" detail, says that a motive has not yet been determined for the shooting. Moreno also claimed that the backpack she was carrying had a bomb, although police later found no explosives.
Also read: 'She's crossed the line again': Legal expert thinks Aileen Cannon may be in more trouble
Moreno had a criminal history dating back to 2005, which included arrests for assault of a public servant, assault causing bodily injury, forgery, possession of marijuana, theft, evading arrest unlawful carrying weapon. She had previously identified as "Jeffery Escalante" according to a Texas Department of Public Safety records search.
ABC News says authorities are feverishly pouring though Moreno's social media history to find evidence of a motive.
"I will not make any assumptions because information continues to come in as to what motivated the shooter, but I am asking that the investigation look into whether it was a hate crime, given the shooting took place at an all-Spanish service," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement.
Leave a Comment
Related Post