The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Lakewood Church shooterGenesse Moreno reportedly donated money to the Texas megachurch years before she took her seven-year-old son to the religious institution and opened fire inside.

On Sunday, the 36-year-old walked into Joel Osteen’s megachurch around 1.50pm with her seven-year-old son and armed with an AR-15 rifle.

Inside, she began shooting in the hallway of the building, sending worshippers running for cover.

Two off-duty police officers returned fire, fatally shooting Moreno. Her seven-year-old son was also shot in the head amid the chaos.

Her son was rushed to hospital where he remains in critical condition. Another victim – a 57-year-old man – was also shot in the leg; he has since been released from the hospital.

Years before the shooting, however, Moreno’s social media posts have revealed that she once sent money to the megachurch that she then chose to carry out her attack, CNN reported.

In March 2020, she posted a screenshot of a letter from Lakewood Church thanking her for her donation.

Moreno’s social media accounts have since been taken down.

The Independent has reached out to the Houston Police Department for more information but has not been able to independently verify the post or the donation.

Although the motive of the shooting remains unclear, police said that Moreno had a “documented mental health history.”

A woman who identified herself on Facebook as Moreno’s former mother-in-law said Moreno “was taking medication for schizophrenia.”

She once stored a loaded gun in her then-three-year-old son’s diaper bag, the records state.

Authorities also said Moreno penned “antisemitic writings” related to a familial dispute with her ex-husband. “We think this is where this stems from,” said Houston Police Department Commander Christopher Hassig.

The rifle also said “Palestine” on it, police said.

The police also said Moreno’s driver’s license says Genesse Moreno but that she used other “aliases.” Criminal records also identify her as Jeffery Escalante — with the middle name Genesse. Despite the male name, authorities said, through “all the investigation to this point, she has been identified the entire time as female.”

Records show Moreno had an expansive criminal history spanning from 2005 to 2022, including arrests including for assault, marijuana possession, forgery, theft, and unlawful carrying of a weapon.

With the exception of the arrest pertaining to her alleged unlawful carrying of a weapon in 2022, all of the arrests are under the name Jeffery Escalante.