Boy who was shot at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church 'suffered a gunshot wound to the brain': grandmother

The 7-year-old boy who was shot when his mother Gennese Moreno attempted to shoot up Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church on Sunday has suffered critical injuries, his grandmother said. He was shot in the head and his grandmother said that he "suffered a gunshot wound to the brain." He is not expected to survive his injuries.

The statement was made on social media by the boy's paternal grandmother, Walli Carranza. Her son, Quito Carranza, is currently serving time in Florida for failing to register as a sex offender. The child had special needs, and a futher report based on court documents from a custody dispute indicated that Moreno had no real attachment to the child, only referring to him as "the boy."

"My son-Quito and I and the entire Carranza family ask for your prayers for my grandson [Samuel] who has suffered a gunshot wound to the brain," she said. Her son lost custody of the child during his divorce with Moreno in 2022. He said Moreno had mental health issues, as well. His mother submitted an affidavit saying that she was concerned about "complaints of child abuse and neglect, as well as reckless endangerment."

Moreno argued that the father was a registered sex offender, had multiple DWI charges, had physically assaulted her, and had never cared for the child. Moreno told the court that Carranza was "not capable of caring for a child with special needs."

"The outpouring of love and support we have received today is overwhelming and as we try to make sense of this completely preventable horror, we want to make three things absolutely clear. First, although my former daughter-in-law raged against Israel and Jews in a pro-Palestinian rant yesterday, this has nothing to do with Judaism or Islam. Nothing! But this is what happens when reckless and irresponsible reporting let’s people with severe mental illness have an excuse for violence," she said.

"Second," her statement continued, "no one may ever blame a police officer who carries out his or her rightful duty to save lives even if they are found responsible for shooting my grandson. The fault lies in a child protective services of Montgomery County and Harris County that refused to remove custody from a woman with known mental illness that was not being treated and with the state of Texas for not having strong red flag laws that would have prevented her from owning or possessing a gun. Let it be clear that the Second Amendment stops where the first amendment right to life begin, and it’s time to remove the US Constitution any protection for gun ownership."
 

"Third," she went on, "my family asks for privacy at the same time we ask that this be a wake-up call. My daughter-in-law when she was taking medication for schizophrenia was a very sweet and loving woman. But mental illness is real illness and when family members seek emergency protections they’re not doing so for their own sake but for the sake of the person who is ill….And to protect her child and society. 

"If today you suspect that someone needs mental health care never cease your efforts to secure their safety and that of others. May HaShem bless the hands of those who hold our child and bring him healing just as G.d did when he was born at just 23 weeks. And may the memory of Geneses Moreno-Carranza be for a blessing…in her death may we find a way to keep others from dying."