By Juan A. Lozano -
The Associated Press
Police body camera footage released Monday by Houston police showed off-duty officers with their weapons drawn as they confronted a woman who opened fire at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen's church in Houston earlier in the day. this month before being shot down.
They also revealed blurred images of the attacker's young son, who was taken to the church by his mother and was injured in the shooting.
In the recording you can hear the agents
requesting urgent medical help for the child
.
Houston police released images of two of their officers working security at the Lakewood church, as well as a video of a Harris County sheriff's deputy.
In them you can see the officers crouching down and with their guns drawn while loud and repeated shots are heard.
Image from a police body camera taken during the shooting at Lakewood Church, in Houston, on February 26, 2024. Associated Press / AP
Body camera footage also shows people who were there before reacting with shock when they heard the first shot.
Confused, some began to run and then there were more shots.
Bystanders can be seen taking shelter in rooms and hallways as officers ran to where the shots were coming from.
According to police, Genesse Moreno, 36, entered the church on February 11 between Sunday services with his 7-year-old son and began shooting with an AR-style rifle.
Moreno did not reach the main precinct and
died after exchanging gunfire with two off-duty agents who were carrying weapons
.
Two people were injured in the shooting, including Moreno's young son.
The minor was shot in the head and remains hospitalized.
In the video from the Lakewood security camera, also released this Monday by the police, Moreno appears as he arrives at the church in a white SUV and takes his son, Samuel, out of the back seat and walks towards the church. building.
The woman was wearing a black shirt, striped pants, boots, and a loose tan trench coat.
In the video images, gunshots are heard echoing throughout the church building as officers approach the location where the shots originated.
An officer can be heard shouting, "Put the gun down, now," before shooting.
Another agent warned: "He may have a bomb."
In another church security video, which has no sound, the boy is seen covering his ears after his mother leaves the frame.
The woman approaches him and extends her arms to him
, but she leaves the image again.
The boy seemed to be in a doorway.
In the images, Moreno can be heard shouting: "You killed my son!"
He later said, "Go away, I have a bomb. I have a bomb."
Gunshots are heard as he speaks.
Images of the boy, who is wearing orange pants and a yellow shirt, were blurred after he was injured in the shooting.
The paramedics were called by several agents, who asked for help after seeing the little boy lying face up on the hallway carpet.
"We have an injured child, he has about three bullets in the head," an agent reported through his radio.
Houston police have not said who fired the shots that wounded the child.
Later, an agent reports over the radio: "The attacker was shot down. It seems she has something tied to her chest."
Another agent requested the presence of the bomb squad.
Although a blue backpack can be seen near her side when she was on the ground, authorities later said that
no explosives were found
.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said in a statement on the social network X that the images "may be disturbing to members of the community."
'"While we know there are unanswered questions, this remains an ongoing investigation," Finner stated.
"We will continue to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to thoroughly examine all aspects of this incident."
Police have told reporters that investigators were still trying to determine Moreno's motive and were trying to get more details about how he obtained the AR-style rifle he used in the attack.
In Facebook posts last week, Walli Carranza, the boy's grandmother, indicated that her grandson, Samuel, was breathing well on his own after doctors removed a tube to facilitate his oxygenation.
Carranza explained that Samuel has had six surgeries.
"
Will he be able to lead a normal life?
I have no idea," the woman wrote in a message on Saturday.
On Sunday, Carranza claimed that Samuel had looked at her and smiled.