Before Houston Megachurch Shooting, a Series of Warning Signs

Those who knew the woman who opened fire on Sunday with an AR-15 rifle inside Lakewood Church in Houston said the warning signs had been flashing, off and on, for years.

She kept numerous guns, including, at one point, in her son’s diaper bag, according to a relative — firearms that she was able to acquire even after the relative said she had been involuntarily hospitalized in 2016 for psychiatric treatment.

Her neighbors said the woman, Genesse Ivonne Moreno, sometimes displayed aggressive behavior that frightened them. She directed antisemitic rants at her Jewish in-laws during a protracted and bitter divorce and custody dispute. At one point in the summer of 2022, her angry outbursts became so vitriolic that the police in Conroe, Texas, were asked to check on the well-being of her young son.

The officers found firearms in the home but did not remove them, according to Rabbi Walli Carranza, the boy’s paternal grandmother, who had requested the welfare check.

“They said yes, she has guns, but that’s legal in Texas,” Ms. Carranza said. “She can rant at you all she wants and not be mentally ill. Her rants were very profane and they were horrible, and they were very antisemitic.”

Ms. Moreno bought the assault-style rifle in December that she used in the attack, officials have said. She attached a sticker with the word “Palestine” to the stock of the weapon.