How Texas church shooter bought rifle despite mental illness and criminal history is under scrutiny

HOUSTON– The gunman who opened fire at a Houston megachurch before being shot by security officers used an AR-style rifle that police say she bought legally, despite a years-long criminal record, a history of mental illness and allegations that she threatened her shoot ex. husband.

Major questions remained Tuesday about Genenesse Moreno’s motive in the shooting, and police provided no details about where or how she obtained the gun in December. The shooting joins others in Texas and elsewhere involving gunmen who legally obtained guns despite their criminal histories and mental health issues.

Authorities say Moreno, 36, entered celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church with her 7-year-old son on Sunday and began shooting in a hallway, sending worshipers running to safety. Moreno did not reach the main shrine and was killed after exchanging gunfire with two off-duty officers.

Moreno’s son was seriously injured after being shot in the head and Houston police had no immediate update on his condition Tuesday.

Moreno used both male and female aliases, but investigators learned through interviews and previous police reports that Moreno identified as female, Houston Police Chief Chris Hassig said.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner did not say whether the AR-15 was purchased at retail, which would have required a background check if purchased from a federally licensed firearms dealer, or for a private sale, which would not be the case are. Texas does not require a permit to carry a rifle or pistol in public. Police added that Moreno also had a .22 caliber rifle that she did not fire during the shooting.

“We’re not people here standing up against Second Amendment rights, but people suffering from mental illness, criminals… that’s what we’re looking at,” Finner said.

Moreno’s criminal record included charges for forging a $100 bill, a 2009 assault conviction for kicking a detention officer — which resulted in a 180-day prison sentence — and a 2022 misdemeanor charge for unlawfully carrying a weapon .

In a guilty plea to the 2022 felony count in nearby Fort Bend County, Moreno surrendered a handgun and rifle found during a traffic stop. The weapons were destroyed as part of the settlement.

Fort Bend County District Attorney Wesley Wittig said Moreno’s mental health history was not discussed in the case, but noted that there is no comprehensive mental health tracking system in place to identify such problems.

“Systems only document what has already happened. While that might lead to some prevention, the real problem probably lies deeper than that because they are people and just tracking things doesn’t solve people,” Wittig said. “Without a serious discussion about all the possible issues and possible future paths, we are unlikely to get a comprehensive answer anytime soon.”

Walli Carranza, Moreno’s former mother-in-law, said in court filings that she had long tried to warn authorities of the danger her ex-daughter-in-law posed, but authorities failed to take action.

In documents filed in connection with Moreno’s 2022 divorce, Carranza alleged that Moreno had a history of threatening people with guns or being careless with how they were stored around her infant son.

Carranza said she saw an unlocked gun in her grandson’s diaper bag in January 2020, and claimed Moreno pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot her ex-husband while their son slept in the backseat of their car.

Carranza said she alerted child protective services in Texas but was told that until Moreno shot someone or her grandson used the gun, the agency could do nothing.

Melissa Landford, spokesperson for the Department of Family and Protective Services, said CPS is investigating the shooting with law enforcement and cannot provide further information due to confidentiality reasons.

In a statement posted to Facebook on Monday, Carranza blamed CPS for not taking action, and the state for not having laws that would have prevented someone with a history of mental illness from having a gun.

“Let it be clear that the Second Amendment ends where the First Amendment right to life begins and that it is time to remove any protection against gun ownership from the U.S. Constitution,” Carranza wrote.

Nicole Golden, executive director of Texas Gun Sense, which advocates for background checks and stricter gun restrictions, said state lawmakers have resisted passing so-called “red flag” laws for years. Those generally allow law enforcement officers or family members to ask a judge to order the seizure or surrender of weapons from someone considered dangerous, often because of mental health issues or threats of violence.

Houston police said Monday that Moreno was placed under emergency detention by officers in 2016, but did not elaborate. In Texas, emergency detention is not an arrest, but allows an offer to detain a mentally ill person if they pose a “substantial risk of serious harm” to themselves or others.

“We must protect our communities from harm by people with documented dangerous histories,” Golden said.

Texas has had other mass shootings involving individuals who legally obtained guns despite documented criminal and mental health histories.

The gunman who killed 26 people and injured 20 others in the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting was able to legally purchase his firearm despite a previous military conviction for domestic violence.

In 2023, a man with a history of mental health problems and a previous arrest on charges of assaulting family members killed six people in a violent rampage that stretched from San Antonio to Austin. He purchased his gun through a private sale, which avoided a background check.

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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.

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