New details uncover the criminal history and troubling online presence of the Lakewood Church shooter, raising questions about gun access and mental health issues.

The Lakewood Church shooter, identified as 36-year-old Genesse Moreno, had a long and troubling criminal history before she carried out a deadly attack at the megachurch. Her actions, which left her dead and her seven-year-old son critically injured, are now being closely examined in light of her previous run-ins with the law and disturbing online activity.

On Sunday, Moreno entered the church, located in Houston, Texas, with her young son and opened fire with an AR-15 rifle. The incident prompted a quick response from two off-duty officers, who returned fire, fatally wounding Moreno. Her son and a 57-year-old man were also injured, though the latter has since been released from hospital. The child remains in critical condition.

Prior to the shooting, Moreno had accumulated a significant criminal record spanning nearly 20 years. Despite her violent past, authorities revealed that she legally purchased the AR-15 rifle in December 2023, raising questions about how she managed to acquire the weapon. In early 2023, she had been arrested for unlawful possession of a weapon, although it remains unclear how this affected her ability to buy firearms.

Police discovered that Moreno had used multiple aliases throughout her life, including male names, although she was identified as female in all current records. Despite being arrested multiple times in the past for various crimes such as assault, theft, and evading arrest, her criminal history did not seem to have stopped her from obtaining weapons.

Moreno’s personal life added further complexity to her profile. She married a registered sex offender in 2015, and the two later divorced in 2022 after a tumultuous relationship, marked by accusations of abuse from both sides. She also had a documented history of mental health issues, with her ex-husband citing her schizophrenia in divorce records. Her former mother-in-law, Rabbi Walli Carranza, revealed that Moreno had been taking medication for schizophrenia, raising concerns about her mental state at the time of the attack.

Moreno’s social media activity also adds to the disturbing portrait of her life leading up to the shooting. Although her accounts have been taken down, it was reported that she posted images of firearms, including a photo of an AR-15, and expressed interest in learning how to clean the weapon. In 2020, she also shared a letter from Lakewood Church acknowledging her donation, which later took on a chilling significance given the events that unfolded there.

Investigators have also found troubling writings linked to Moreno, including antisemitic remarks, and noted that the word “Palestine” was written on the gun used in the attack. Police suggest there may have been a familial dispute with her ex-husband’s family, some members of which are Jewish. However, her former mother-in-law stressed that the incident had more to do with Moreno’s untreated mental illness and systemic failures than any religious or political motivation.

Carranza blamed Texas’ legal systems for failing to intervene in Moreno’s life despite her history of mental health issues, calling out the lack of strong gun control laws that could have prevented her from obtaining a firearm. “The fault lies in the state’s laws,” she wrote.

As the investigation continues, authorities are piecing together the full story of who Genesse Moreno was and what led her to commit such a violent act. Child Protective Services (CPS) is also involved in the investigation, and their spokesperson confirmed that specific details remain confidential.

The ongoing probe aims to shed light on the motivations behind the attack and what could have been done to prevent such a tragedy.