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The suspect, named by police as Genesse Ivonne Moreno, 36, was with her seven-year-old son, who was critically injured in the Houston shootout.
Investigators said the attacker had “Palestine” written on the butt of her rifle and they had uncovered antisemitic writings.
But they said the motive is unclear.
A 57-year-old man was shot in the hip during the incident and has since been discharged from hospital.
The gunwoman’s unnamed son was shot in the head during the shootout and is currently “fighting for his life”, said police. It is not clear who shot the boy.
The church was in the midst of a live stream service when the first gunshots rang out. Pastor Jorge Basave at first continued on with the recording, telling the Houston Chronicle he wanted to project calm.
“I was worried my fear would be contagious,” he said.
Police said the suspect used an AR-15 rifle for the attack. She also had a .22 calibre rifle, but did not fire that weapon.
Officials told Monday’s news conference the attacker has a history of mental health issues and was placed under an emergency detention order in 2016.
Public records indicate Moreno also has a long record of arrests and convictions on assault, drug, and weapons charges.
She previously went by several other aliases, including Jeffery Escalante, and is variously listed as male and female in official records. Police described her in the news conference as a Hispanic female.
