opinion
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called for a hate crimes investigation following reports that the tragic shooting at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas was carried out by a pro-Palestine shooter.
The shooter, Fox News reports, has been identified as Genesee Yvonne Moreno, and initial police reports indicate she may have gone by the name Jeffrey Escalante Moreno, suggesting she may have been transgender.
Moreno opened fire while on duty using an AR-style rifle bearing a “Free Palestine” sticker. She reportedly had a history of mental illness and was placed in emergency detention in 2016.
Two people were injured in the shooting, including the suspect's 7-year-old son, who was seriously injured. It is not yet known who fired the bullet that hit him. The other injured person is a 57-year-old man.
The suspect was killed by off-duty officers who were working in church security.
RELATED: California Democrat claims there's a 'war on trans people' on same day transgender woman shoots up elementary school
Hawley calls for investigation into hate crimes
Houston Police Chief Troy Fenner said the woman acted alone and had a history of anti-Semitic writings. The suspect's neighbors reported that she would often use weapons and bows while performing the “Heil Hitler” salute at them daily.
Not to mention that her statement was essentially a two-word sticker on her long gun: “Free Palestine.”
Senator Hawley believes a hate crimes investigation is in order, something critics believe wouldn't be investigated if the suspect were white and had a MAGA sticker on his gun.
“So the Lakewood church shooter was a transgender pro-Palestine extremist,” he wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “We need a full investigation into hate crimes, including the impacts on the shooter’s motives, plans and thinking.”
RELATED: Lindsey Graham mocks critics of civilian deaths in Palestine: 'What's too much?'
Joel Osteen Shooter Motive Mystery: Media
The investigation into the shooting at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church remains ongoing, and authorities are searching the suspect's home in suburban Houston to gather more information about her motives and background.
While initial reports already paint an ugly picture of the shooter and point to the need for a hate crimes investigation, the media remains baffled by what happened.
Take ABC News, which initially reported on the attack with this headline: 'Free Palestine' written on gun during Lakewood Church shooting, but motive mysterious: sources.
They later updated this ridiculous title to better reflect reality.
This seems to be a story that the media will shut up about as soon as possible.
The shooter was likely a transgender person with anti-Israel motives, not to mention “white” and “non-Hispanic.”
You may remember the statement from the Nashville shooter, Audrey Hill, a former student at Covenant School, a private Presbyterian school, who opened fire there in March and killed six people before being shot and killed by police.
Nashville police insisted at the time that they would release the statement but never did, and when parts of it leaked online, they launched an investigation to find the source of the leak.
The media remained completely lacking in curiosity regarding Hill's motives. Why? Because she also identifies as trans and has a long history of mental health issues.
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