The shooter who opened fire in a Texas megachurch on Sunday had legally purchased the firearm despite having a past criminal record and a history of mental illness.
The Lakewood church is run by the prominent evangelical Christian pastor Joel Osteen.
Police identified the shooter as Genesse Ivonne Moreno, the Associated Press reported. The Houston police chief, Troy Finner, said Moreno had a “mental health history that is documented”, the New York Times reported. Moreno had previously been placed under an emergency detention for a mental health emergency in 2016, according to the AP.
Moreno’s mother-in-law said Moreno had been taking medication for schizophrenia, according to a Facebook post.
Although Moreno had also been arrested several times since 2005, including on misdemeanor weapons charges in 2022, in December 2023 Moreno was still able to legally purchase the AR-15 rifle that was used in Sunday’s shooting.
Moreno also carried a .22 caliber rifle but did not use it in the shooting. It is not clear where Moreno purchased the firearms.
Moreno was shot dead at the scene by off-duty police officers.
Neighbors in Conroe, Texas, the town about an hour outside of Houston where Moreno lived, said the 36-year-old had previously harassed, threatened and brandished firearms at them, NBC News reported. Several of the Conroe residents held a press conference on Monday, alleging that Moreno had frequently terrorized the neighborhood but that police had failed to intervene.
“No one should have died. No one should have been hurt. This should have been handled years ago, and here we are again,” said Jill, the president of the neighborhood’s association, who did not give her last name during the press conference.
Another neighbor, identified as Heather, told NBC that Moreno had threatened her with a handgun in July 2022 after yelling at her while she watered her grass. Heather said local police documented the incident as a threat but did nothing more. “We’re being told, ‘See something, say something.’ Well, we’re seeing stuff, we are saying stuff ... and Conroe PD is not helping us,” Heather told NBC.
“I don’t want to bash them, but help us. Please,” she added, referring to the police.
On Sunday afternoon Moreno entered the Lakewood church dressed in a trench coat and armed with an AR-15 and began shooting. Two off-duty police officers, who worked as the church’s security, returned fire and killed Moreno.
Moreno’s seven-year-old son was present during the shooting and received a gunshot wound to the head. The child is in critical condition.
