HOUSTON (LifeSiteNews) — The perpetrator of a shooting this weekend at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church may have been gender-confused according to inferences drawn from details in preliminary reports on the tragedy.
KHOU reported that a woman entered the church Sunday afternoon minutes before Spanish-language services were supposed to begin. She was wearing a trench coat and backpack, carrying a long rifle, and was accompanied by a child whose relationship to her is currently unknown.
She opened fire, prompting those present to flee the building or hide in closets. Two off-duty police officers were working second jobs at the church at the time and returned fire, killing the assailant. Before dying, she claimed to have a bomb, but none was found on the premises. She also sprayed some kind of substance on the ground, but it has not yet been identified.
Incredibly, nobody in the congregation was killed. A man was hit in the leg, and the child accompanying the shooter was shot and is currently hospitalized in critical condition. It is not confirmed whether either was hit by the shooter or by police.
“I don’t want to speculate on that, but what I would say is if it was (by the police], unfortunately, and that female, that suspect put that baby in danger, I’m going to put that blame on her,” Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner said.
“You know, we don’t understand why these things happen, but we know God’s in control and we’re gonna pray for that little 5-year-old boy and pray for the lady that was deceased, her family and all, and the other gentleman,” Osteen said at a subsequent news conference. “We’re gonna stay strong, we’re gonna continue to move forward. There are forces of evil, but the forces that are for us, the forces of God are stronger than that.”
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“Our hearts are with those impacted by today’s tragic shooting and the entire Lakewood Church community in Houston,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded. “Places of worship are sacred. I have been in contact with Mayor (John) Whitmire and offered the full support and resources of the State of Texas, including Department of Public Safety officers and Texas Rangers, to help this community and help bring swift justice to the criminal who committed this heinous act. Join Cecilia and me in praying for this community during this difficult time and for the brave men and women in blue who acted quickly to respond to this tragedy.”
The deceased shooter has since been identified as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno, who “had a criminal history dating back to 2005, and previously identified as Jeffery Escalante, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety records search,” KHOU reported. “Prior arrests include failure to stop and give information, assault of a public servant, assault causing bodily injury, forgery, possession of marijuana, theft, evading arrest unlawful carrying weapon.”
Moreno’s past use of a male name has prompted speculation that this might be another case of transgender violence, although it is not yet confirmed if she actually suffered from gender dysphoria or merely took the name “Jeffrey” as an alias for some criminal purpose. Notably, in at least one story, NBC affiliate Click 2 Houston refers to Moreno with the gender-neutral pronoun “they.”
A law enforcement source also told ABC News that Moreno had the words “Free Palestine” written on her rifle.
Hours after the shooting, law enforcement entered Moreno’s home to collect evidence but are not yet willing to venture a motive.
“I don’t want to talk about her motivations because I don’t know. Right?” Finner said. “We may never know the full story. But the important message is, we’re going to stand together as a city. We’re going to stand with this church today and the pastor, to make sure that healing begins immediately.”