Background
 

On February 11, 2024, at approximately 1:53pm local time, an active shooter entered Lakewood Church  in Houston, Texas and opened fire.  After the shooting began, off-duty officers working as security at the church, returned fire. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.  In total, 2 people were injured in the incident. 

Attack Overview
On February 11, 2024, at approximately 1:53pm local time, a suspect entered Lakewood Church located outside Houston, Texas.  The suspect entered the building just before the weekly Sunday Spanish language service.  The suspect was dressed in a trench coat, carried a backpack, and had two long rifles.  The suspect was accompanied by a 7-year-old boy later determined to be the biological son of the suspect.  The suspect began shooting nearly immediately upon entering the building after pointing a weapon at the security guard. Two off-duty officers who were working as security for the church returned fire striking the suspect.  The suspect died on scene.   

The entire active shooter event lasted approximately 12 minutes. 

The shooting left the child who was with the suspect critically injured.  A 57-year-old man was also shot in the leg and has since been released from the hospital.

It remains unclear how the young boy, who was taken to a Houston children's hospital, was struck by gunfire. 

After the shooting, the building was evacuated, and police were working to reunite families at a nearby fitness center. According to open-source reports, some people remained in the building hours later but were accounted for.

Suspect
The shooter was identified as Genesse Ivonne Moreno - age 36.  Moreno had a number of arrests, which investigators are reviewing.  During a press conference on Monday, February 12, 2024, authorities from the Houston Police Department stated that Moreno was placed under an emergency detention order in 2016.  He further stated that Moreno had a "documented mental health history."  

Motive

Investigators have yet to officially release a motive, but Commander Christopher Hassig of the Houston Police Department stated they have recovered "some anti-semitic writings."  He went on to state in a press interview that the Houston Police Department is aware of what he called a "familial dispute" which included Jewish family members.   Hassig stressed the investigation was at the beginning stages, with much more work to complete. 

Additional Details

• The suspect had two weapons on their person.  An AR-15 rifle, and a .22 caliber rifle. The AR-15 was used in the shooting, while the .22 caliber rifle was not. 
• Authorities have stated the AR-15 was purchased legally. 
• According to Hassig, the AR-15 rifle Moreno carried had a sticker on the butt-stock that read “Palestine”
• The suspect reportedly made several statements during the course of the incident, but officials declined to describe them.
• Moreno reportedly sprayed "some type of substance" on the ground.   HAZMAT crews were called to the scene, along with decontamination units, but did not locate anything of concern to the community or location.
• According to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, the suspect claimed to have had a bomb before before they died, but authorities didn’t find any explosives on the suspect or their vehicle. 
• Moreno reportedly had multiple aliases, including the name "Jeffrey Escalante."
• Authorities have stated that they believe Moreno acted alone and have no reason to believe this attack to be part of a larger event or action. 
• On Monday, February 12, 2024, officials with the FBI, Houston and Conroe police departments and the Texas Rangers executed a search warrant at a home in Conroe Texas.  Donna Hansen, chief of the felony division at the district attorney's office, confirmed the search warrant was connected to the Lakewood Church shooting.
• Conroe is approximately 46 miles from Lakewood Chruch. 
  

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Pre-Attack Indicators
While no profile or series of behaviors can correctly predict whether or not an individual is on the pathway to violence 100% of the time, the FBI has studied pre-attack indicators of active shooters over the course of thirteen years and has noted several telling statistics. 

• FBI - Pre-Attack indicators of Mass Shooters - 2000 - 2013 - Fact Sheet
• FBI - Pre-Attack indicators of Mass Shooters - 2000 - 2013 - Full Report