A shooter's motive for opening fire in celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s megachurch remained unclear Monday as authorities searched the suspect's home in suburban Houston and identified the weapon used in the attack as an AR-style rifle.
The house in Conroe, Texas, is more than 50 miles north of Lakewood Church, where Sunday's shooting in between busy services sent worshippers scrambling to find safety.
The shooter was identified as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno, according to an affidavit seeking a search warrant released by the Montgomery County district attorney’s office. Police say Moreno was shot and killed by two off-duty officers working security at the church, one of the largest megachurches in the U.S.
Two other people were shot and wounded, including the shooter's young son, who entered the church with them.
“Antisemitic writings” were found in a search of items belonging to the shooter, according to law enforcement. NBC News also reports that the rifle the shooter carried had the word “Palestine” written on it, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter. It is unknown why the shooter had the word on the rifle and its relevance to the case.
Law enforcement records show the shooter had at least six prior arrests since 2005, including unlawful carrying of a weapon, which she pleaded guilty to; evading arrest; and assault on a public official, which was pleaded to a lesser charge.
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The search warrant affidavit requested FBI assistance in retrieving any data from electronic devices found in the home.
Authorities have said a 5-year-old boy who entered the church with the shooter, identified on Monday by authorities as the shooter's son, was critically injured after a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities said the shooter's son remained in critical condition as of Monday afternoon.
The sound of gunshots inside the massive church, which was formerly the home of the NBA's Houston Rockets, startled worshippers just before 2 p.m. Sunday, around the time many people were getting ready to later watch the Super Bowl. Osteen said the violence could have been worse if the shooting had happened during the earlier and larger late Sunday morning service.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said Sunday the shooter entered the church wearing a trench coat and backpack and armed with a long rifle and opened fire. The shooter was confronted by two off-duty officers, a Houston police officer and an agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, who returned fire. Finner said the shooter told officers after being shot there was a bomb but a search found no explosives.
He and other authorities at the scene praised the officers for taking down the shooter.
Authorities have not released the identities of the victims. It was unclear how the shooter's young son, who was taken to a Houston children's hospital, was struck by gunfire. When asked whether the boy was shot by one of the off-duty officers returning fire on the suspect, Finner said he did not want to speculate but added that he blamed the suspect for putting "that baby in danger."
Authorities described the other victim as a man in his 50s who was wounded in his hip.
Alan Guity, whose family is from Honduras, has been a member of the church since 1998. He said he heard gunshots while resting inside the church’s sanctuary as his mother was working as an usher.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom. And I yelled, ‘Mom,’” he said.
Guity, 35, said he ran to his mother and they both laid flat on the floor as the gunfire continued. Guity said he and his mother prayed and stayed on the floor for about five minutes until someone told them it was safe to leave the building. As he was led outside, Guity could see people were afraid and crying and looking for loved ones.
Guity said he and his mother tried to calm people down by worshiping and singing in Spanish, “Move in me, move in me. Touch my mind and my heart. Move within me Holy Spirit.”
Who is Joel Osteen?
Osteen, 60, took the helm of Lakewood Church after John Osteen, his father and the church's founding pastor, passed away in 1999. The church has grown dramatically under Joel Osteen and is regularly attended by 45,000 people weekly, making it the third-largest megachurch in the U.S., according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
Osteen is a leader of what is known as the prosperity gospel, a belief that God wants his followers to be wealthy and healthy. He is the author of several best-selling books, including, “Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential.”
His televised services reach about 100 countries and renovating his church's arena cost nearly $100 million.
After Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston in 2017, Osteen opened his church to those seeking shelter after social media critics slammed the televangelist for not offering to house people in need.
