Lakewood Church shooting to be reviewed by grand jury as status of boy shot in head remains unclear

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Monday, February 17, 2025

The investigation of a taking pictures at Lakewood Church final yr forward of a Sunday worship service involving a mom who opened hearth contained in the megachurch whereas she was along with her 7-year-old son earlier than being killed by off-duty officers might be reviewed by a grand jury. 

Courtney Fischer, a Houston District Legal professional’s Workplace spokesperson, instructed Houston Public Media Thursday that the case might be introduced to a grand jury on an undisclosed date.

“Grand juries meet now and again,” Fischer mentioned. “We by no means publicize precisely what circumstances go when. We do not need it to taint a grand jury pool.”

Officer Christopher Moreno of the Houston Police Division and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Fee agent Adrian Herrera have been each working off-duty at Lakewood Church on Feb. 11, 2024, when Genesse Ivonne Moreno, a mentally troubled 36-year-old girl, opened hearth contained in the church.

The lady’s then 7-year-old son, Samuel Moreno-Carranza, was additionally shot in his head throughout his mom’s armed assault on the church. A 57-year-old bystander was additionally shot within the leg.

The Houston Police Division confirmed that it turned the case over to the Harris County District Legal professional’s Workplace. 

“The case might be introduced to a grand jury,” Fischer instructed Houston Chronicle. “That is customized for any officer-involved taking pictures through which a legislation enforcement discharges his/her weapon and a person is struck.”

Jodi Silva, a spokeswoman for the Houston Police Division, instructed the Chronicle that the “case file” included investigative info on the officers concerned within the taking pictures. A dedication might be made by the district legal professional’s workplace whether or not the 2 officers might be charged.

Moreno’s mother-in-law, Walli Carranza, beforehand mentioned she wasn’t positive why Moreno selected to assault the church however speculated that her former daughter-in-law’s psychological well being struggles, coupled with a custody battle over her son, contributed to what occurred.

Carranza additionally said that her former daughter-in-law worshiped at Lakewood Church and instructed The Related Press that in a custody battle between her son, Enrique Carranza, and Moreno over her grandson, her legal professional despatched emails to Lakewood Church in 2020 and 2021 asking for assist. The request was made based mostly on the idea that Moreno’s mom was a member of the church.

Don Iloff, a Lakewood Church spokesperson, instructed the AP final yr that their data present Moreno solely attended the church “sporadically” for a few years, and past 2022, they don’t have any document of her attendance.

He additional famous that they didn’t discover any data exhibiting Moreno’s mom attended providers on the megachurch or receipt of any emails from Carranza’s legal professional.

Iloff added that the extent of the assistance they might have provided to Moreno would have been restricted to non secular and biblical counseling.

“If we had reached out and [Moreno] had accepted counseling, then we undoubtedly would have been more than pleased to offer that,” Iloff mentioned.

The custody battle over their son began in Harris County, Texas, however resulted in Montgomery County. Enrique Carranza was granted custody of his son in Harris County, however a brand new trial in Montgomery County awarded custody to Moreno, although the boy’s paternal grandmother had requested a decide to nominate her as momentary conservator after declaring that Moreno had schizophrenia and did not all the time take her prescribed remedy.

In his testimony to a Harris County decide, Enrique Carranza mentioned he wasn’t instructed concerning the beginning of his son till a month after he was born, and Moreno had “instructed the hospital that (he) was lifeless.”

In paperwork filed in Montgomery County, Walli Carranza mentioned Moreno and her mom “knowingly and deliberately harmed” Samuel by “mendacity” to authorities for causes exhausting to grasp “even by the pastoral workers of Joel Osteen’s church,” which is the place Moreno’s mom claimed to be a member.

Walli Carranza had been caring for Samuel Moreno with the dying of his mom and his father’s imprisonment, however a latest dying announcement mentioned she died on Jan. 18.

Enrique Carranza is at present in a Florida jail for failing to register as a intercourse offender and will not be launched till August.

It was unclear Friday what has occurred to Samuel Moreno. Melissa Landford, a spokeswoman on the Texas Division of Household and Protecting Providers, instructed Houston Chronicle they could not touch upon his case.

“The precise particulars of that investigation are confidential in accordance with legislation,” Landford mentioned. “CPS has not acquired a brand new report of suspected abuse or neglect involving the kid for the reason that division closed the case in 2024.”