Southwest
Lakewood shooting: Grandma shares update on 7-year-old shot at Joel Osteen's Houston megachurch
The 7-year-old boy shot at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church earlier this month is fighting for his life after multiple surgeries to his brain and skull, according to his grandmother.
Shooter Genesse Ivonne Moreno, 36, entered the Houston megachurch around 2 p.m. with her own son, Samuel Moreno Carranza, before opening fire with an AR-15. The young boy and another man were critically wounded at the scene.
The boy’s grandmother, Walli Carranza, wrote in a Wednesday Facebook post that “half of his right skull 1708619354 has to be surgically removed during two surgeries done in less than 24 hours.”
LAKEWOOD CHURCH HOLDS HEALING AND PRAISE SERVICE A WEEK AFTER FATAL SHOOTING
Harris County Sheriffs officers stand outside of the Lakewood Church on Sunday, Feb. 11, in Houston, following the shooting. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
“He was in cardiac arrest multiple times and no one can determine whether he has significant brain activity because his scalp tissue is too friable to allow the attachment of EEG wires,” the boy’s grandmother wrote.
Moreno’s second victim, a 57-year-old man, was shot in the leg but was in stable condition later that day, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner previously told Fox News Digital.
One of two armed, off-duty law enforcement officers working security at the church shot Moreno in a subsequent firefight – she would later succumb to her injuries.
It is unclear whether the boy was shot by his mother or the security guards trying to subdue her.
LAKEWOOD CHURCH SHOOTER IDENTIFIED AS GENESSE IVONNE MORENO; ‘PALESTINE’ WRITTEN ON GUN
The Lakewood Church shooting suspect has been identified as Genesse Ivonne Moreno. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
“I don’t want to speculate on that, but what I would say is if it was, unfortunately, and that female, that suspect put that baby in danger, I’m going to put that blame on her,” Finner said during a press conference last week.
After Moreno “went down,” Finner said, the officers at the scene quickly searched her backpack and vehicle for explosives due to earlier threats she’d made.
NEIGHBORS OF LAKEWOOD CHURCH SHOOTER DETAIL YEARS OF ‘HELL,’ POLICE INACTION: ‘ONLY A MATTER OF TIME’
Pastor Joel Osteen wipes away tears as he talks about last week’s shooting at Lakewood Church, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
“My faith tradition demands of me compassion, and I have it for my deceased daughter-in-law,” the boy’s grandmother wrote in her post. “She has schizophrenia and, now we know, anti-social personality disorder. Her brain was broken.”
The grandmother claimed that, despite more than 20 previous reports of neglect and medical abuse to child protective services in Harris and Montgomery Counties, law enforcement never intervened in the at-risk woman’s life. Previously, the grandmother claimed, guns were found in Moreno’s diaper bag, purse and car by authorities.
Pastor Joel Osteen prays during a service at Lakewood Church Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, in Houston. Osteen welcomed worshippers back to Lakewood Church for the first time since a woman with an AR-style opened fire in between services at his Texas megachurch last Sunday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The bereaved woman wrote that her grandson had “no protection of his God-given right to life” because “the very same legislators who claim to be ‘pro-life’ believe that unbridled gun rights matter and the right to life does not.”
“What is the excuse for those who knew and did nothing and for legislators who refuse to allow red flag laws but do allow anyone to buy an assault weapon?” Carranza asked.
She called for legislators to “repeal the second amendment” on the grounds that “[the first] means too much to allow the second.”
Previously, Moreno’s neighbors detailed years of harassment and threats from Moreno and their unsuccessful attempts to alert authorities to her unstable condition.
A long line of cars forms outside of Lakewood Church, where Gennesse Ivonne Moreno opened fire on Feb. 11. (Photo by Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Moreno’s motivation for the shooting is still unclear. Antisemitic writings were found inside the vehicle she drove to the church, police said. Although police did not say what was written, they suggested that it may have stemmed from a familial dispute involving her ex-husband and his family – some of whom are Jewish, police say.
The word “Palestine” was written on the woman’s gun, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Moreno, who is originally from El Salvador, had a criminal history including convictions for assaulting a police officer in 2009 and forgery in 2010.
Fox News Digital previously reported that she had six previous arrests dating back to 2005, and used several male and female aliases, including Jeffrey Escalante Moreno.
LAKEWOOD CHURCH SHOOTING: WOMAN WITH CHILD IN TOW OPENS FIRE INSIDE JOEL OSTEEN’S TEXAS MEGACHURCH
Houston Police officers watch over displaced churchgoers outside Lakewood Church on Sunday following the shooting. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Members of the FBI, the Texas Rangers, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Conroe and Houston Police Departments were investigating a property Monday in Conroe, north of Houston, that was believed to be Moreno’s residence, KPRC reported.
Investigators said they will look into how Moreno was able to purchase the two guns, one of which, Hassig said, was legally purchased in December.
Yesterday, the church held its first service since the shooting, with Osteen telling parishioners the event had caused “a lot of trauma.” Houston Mayor John Whitmire and police Chief Troy Finner were both invited on stage to speak.
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Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
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