Joel Osteen's Church Shooter Carried Assault-Style Rifle With 'Palestine' Written on it, Say Police
Joel Osteen's church became an "active" shooter scene on Sunday.
Feb. 12 2024, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
The woman who opened fire at Joel Osteen's megachurch over the weekend was carrying a weapon with the word “Palestine” written on it, RadarOnline.com has learned.
As this outlet reported, the shooter, identified as Genesse Ivonne Moreno, 36, opened fire on Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston on Sunday afternoon with her five-year-old son in tow.
The shooter has been identified as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno.
Two off-duty officers exchanged gunfire, killing Moreno around 1:50 PM. Her son is in critical care after being shot. A 57-year-old man was also injured but is in stable condition.
She entered the church between services while people were arriving for Spanish service with an assault-style-type rifle that read "Palestine," two senior-level law enforcement officers told NBC News after being briefed on the matter.
Moreno allegedly made several statements during the incident, but officials have not disclosed what was said. They also revealed that she had previously gone by a male name. During the tragedy, Moreno claimed she had a bomb, but police found no explosive devices on her or her vehicle.
Moreno was killed by two off-duty officers. Her son is in critical care.
Her motive for the shooting remains unclear — but investigators are looking at all angles and taking the weapon with writing on it into consideration, per NBC News. Detectives have not ruled out a hate crime or terrorism as of this post.
Osteen addressed the shooting, revealing he was “in a fog” after the incident.
“We don’t understand why all these things happen,” the famous pastor told reporters Sunday. “But we know God’s in control.”
In a separate statement on Facebook, Osteen urged his followers to lean on the Lord.
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Over 45,000 people attend Osteen's service each week.
“Our community is devastated by today’s events and grateful for the swift actions of law enforcement,” he said. “Together, we will rise above this tragedy and stand firm in our commitment to love and support one another.”
Osteen is famous for his congregation, which sees about 45,000 people in service attendance each week.
He has several famous friends, including Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, and more. Osteen has not dodged controversy despite being a man of God with connections in Hollywood.
In 2017, Osteen was under fire for not opening Lakewood Church, which can house more than 16k people, to Hurricane Harvey victims. However, his team said it was all a misunderstanding.
Osteen encouraged his congregation to look to their religion after the tragedy.
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Osteen's team said the church "never closed [its] doors," adding the facility would be "a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm."
"We will continue to be a distribution center ... We are prepared to house people once shelters reach capacity," a Lakewood spokesman told CNN in a statement at the time.
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