Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is calling for a hate crime investigation following reports that the tragic shooting at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas was carried out by a pro-Palestine shooter.
The shooter, according to Fox News reporting, has been identified as Genesse Ivonne Moreno and initial police reports indicate that she may have gone by the name Jeffrey Escalante Moreno, suggesting she could have been transgender.
Moreno opened fire during a service using an AR-style rifle with a “Free Palestine” sticker on it. She reportedly had a history of mental illness and had been placed under emergency detention in 2016.
Two people were injured in the shooting, including the suspect’s 7-year-old son, who was critically wounded. It is not known at this time who fired the shot that hit him. The other injured person was identified as a 57-year-old man.
The suspect was killed by off-duty officers who were working security at the church.
Hawley Calls For Hate Crime Investigation
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said that the woman acted alone and had a history of antisemitic writings. Neighbors of the suspect have reported that she would often wield guns and crossbows while doing “Heil Hitler” salutes at them daily.
Not to mention, her manifesto was essentially a two-word sticker on her long-rifle: “Free Palestine.”
Senator Hawley believes a hate crimes investigation is in order, something critics believe would not be questioned if the suspect were white and had a MAGA sticker on their gun.
“So the Lakewood church shooter was a transgender, pro-Palestine radical,” he wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “We need a full hate crimes investigation, including the influences on the shooter’s motivation, plans & thinking.”
So the Lakewood church shooter was a transgender, pro-Palestine radical. We need a full hate crimes investigation, including the influences on the shooter’s motivation, plans & thinking https://t.co/TwFlaQcRfe
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) February 12, 2024
RELATED: Lindsey Graham Scoffs at Critics of Civilian Deaths in Palestine: ‘What’s Too Many?’
Joel Osteen Shooter Motive A Mystery: Media
The investigation into the shooting at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood church is ongoing, and authorities are searching the suspect’s home in suburban Houston to gather more information about her motives and background.
While preliminary reports are already painting an ugly picture of the shooter and do suggest the need for a hate crimes investigation, the media is still seemingly baffled by what happened.
Take ABC News for example, who initially reported on the attack with this headline: ‘Free Palestine’ written on gun in shooting at Lakewood Church, but motive a mystery: Sources.
They later updated that absurd headline to better reflect reality.
Quite the headline update from ABC News pic.twitter.com/5LJdCudvsn
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) February 12, 2024
This seems like a story that the media is going to quiet down on as soon as practicable.
The shooter being a possibly transgendered individual with anti-Israel motives, not to mention they are “white” and “non-Hispanic.”
BREAKING: The Lakewood Church shooter was transgender. He went by the name “Genesse” and previously “Jeffrey.”
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 12, 2024
Another act of trans terrorism. We need to have a national conversation about the LGBTQ movement turning youth into violent extremists. pic.twitter.com/CqrbbMKEw2
You may recall the manifesto of the Nashville shooter Audrey Hale, a former student at The Covenant School, a private Presbyterian school, who opened fire there in March and killed six people before being fatally shot by police, was never released.
Nashville police at the time insisted they would release the manifesto but never did, then when parts of it were leaked online, they launched an investigation to find the source of the leak.
The media remained completely lacking in curiosity as to Hale’s motivation. Why? Because she was also identified as transgender with an extensive history of mental health issues.
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