The woman who opened fire into a Texas church on Sunday has been identified as Genesse Ivonne Moreno, a transgender from El Salvador who used the alias Jeffery Escalante. According to a federal law source, Moreno’s rifle had the words “free Palestine” on it.
Moreno reportedly entered Lakewood Church in Houston wearing a trench coat and a backpack and carrying a long rifle. Moreno and a 5-year-old boy entered the building from the west side of the parking lot just before 2 p.m., KHOU-11 reported.
After she started shooting, two off-duty officers—one with Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) and one with the Houston Police Department —opened fire, killing Moreno, police said. The boy and a 57-year-old man were shot during the exchange in gunfire. The child was reportedly taken to the hospital in critical condition. The man was shot in the hip.
A federal law enforcement source told CNN that the shooter used an AR-15 that had “Free Palestine” written on it. Investigators are reportedly trying to determine if the attack was politically motivated.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told reporters Moreno claimed to have a bomb before she died. He said a bomb squad searched the church and the vehicle and backpack, but found no evidence of explosives.
Moreno allegedly sprayed a substance on the ground that investigators have not yet identified.
The trans-shooter had a criminal history dating back to 2005, including “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.”
Lakeland Church pastor Joel Osteen offered a prayer for the victims of the shooting on social media Sunday.
“Our community is devastated by today’s events and grateful for the swift actions of law enforcement,” Osteen said in a statement obtained by Chron early on Sunday evening. “May the healing hands of God touch the lives of everyone involved and provide comfort during this difficult time.
The shooting in Texas, is just the latest in a series of transgender attacks.
In September of 2018, Snochia Moseley, a 26 year old man who they identified as female, shot and killed four people at a pharmaceuticals distribution center in Aberdeen, Maryland.
In May of 2019, Alec McKinney, a then-17-year-old transgender student opened fire at at a Denver-area charter school, killing one student, and wounding eight others.
In March of 2023, Audrey “Aiden” Hale, a 28-year-old female who identified as male, went on a shooting rampage at the Christian Covenant School on March 27, 2023, killing three children and three members of the school’s staff before being shot dead by responding police.
Hale was motivated by an intense, murderous hatred of affluent, white (“cracker”) children, according to a leaked manifesto that was written in a spiral notebook.
In April of 2023, a transgender teenager in Colorado Springs allegedly made threats against various schools in the city, resulting in a first degree attempted murder charge and other related charges.
Last month, an trans or nonbinary student opened fire at a high school in Perry, Iowa, hitting multiple people, before turning the gun on himself. Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger died as a result of his injuries.
The story also comes amid a slew of news stories about drag queens committing sex crimes against children.
On TikTok last year, an infamous transvestite who goes by the name “Tara” and who identifies as a “poly trans lesbian” threatened violence against women who object to biological males invading their public restrooms. The individual urged fellow travelers to “arm up” to fight religious conservatives.
“The modern LGBTQ+ movement is radicalizing our youth into becoming violent extremists,” commented Libs of TikTok on X.