New details are emerging about the suspected shooter who attacked a Texas church on Sunday that suggest the individual was anti-semitic, a migrant, and possibly transgender.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno opened fire at Lakewood Church in Houston before being killed by off-duty law enforcement officers who were already present at the scene.
Two other individuals were shot that day — a 57-year-old man and a boy Moreno brought to the church. Authorities have not confirmed whether Moreno or the officers fired the shots that hit the innocents, per ABC 13.
While the man was shot in the leg and has since been released from the hospital, the boy was shot in the head and is currently hospitalized in critical condition, according to NBC News. The boy has since been confirmed by authorities to be Moreno’s 7-year-old son.
Fox News reported on Monday that the suspected shooter was allegedly a biological man who identified as a woman but subsequently clarified its reporting after a briefing by officials who stated Moreno was a biological woman and the mother of the critically injured boy.
The confusion may have stemmed from confirmed reports that asserted Moreno used multiple aliases, including the name Jeffery Escalante.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, a study conducted by the Crime Prevention Research Center claimed that transgender individuals have been overrepresented among mass shooters over the last several years. While most people with gender dysphoria are no more violent than the next person, clinical psychologist Kathy Platani, the director of the Southwest Ohio Critical Incident Stress Management Team, commented on the possible connection between transgender hormone usage and violent behavior.
“Hormones change brain chemistry,” Platani told The Epoch Times. “And if you change brain chemistry, you might just be changing behavior.”
Regardless, authorities have purportedly not been explicit as to whether Moreno was transgender and ever authentically identified herself as male. According to The Daily Signal, which asked the Houston Police Department about Moreno’s gender identity, investigators have not ruled out the possibility that she was transgender.
However, authorities have confirmed that “antisemitic writings” were found following a search of Moreno’s belongings, and reports indicate the AR-15 she fired on Sunday had a “Free Palestine” sticker on it.
“We do believe that there was a familial dispute that had taken place between her ex-husband and her ex-husband’s family,” said Christopher Hassig, commandeer of the Houston Police Department Homicide Division, per Fox 26. “Some of those individuals are Jewish, so we believe that might be where all of this stems from.”
Multiple outlets have reported that Moreno was a migrant originally from El Salvador, however, it is unclear whether she entered the United States unlawfully. Additionally, she purportedly had an extensive criminal record dating back to 2005. KHOU 11 reported she was previously arrested for assault causing bodily injury, possession of marijuana, assault of a public servant, theft, unlawful carrying of a weapon, and evading arrest.
Furthermore, Moreno reportedly had a history of mental health struggles, having been placed under an emergency detention order back in 2016, according to Houston Public Media.
