Lakewood Church shooting: Houston mayor calls for focus on mental illness, 'Red Flag Law' following attack
HOUSTON - Roughly 72 hours after deadly gunfire unfolded at Lakewood Church, Mayor John Whitmire extended credit where credit was due, while also issuing a call to action.
"The two heroes, Christopher Moreno, an HPD officer, and Adrian Herrera, TABC, confronted the suspect, and we know it would have probably been worse because of the nature of her assault rifle and amount of ammunition," said Whitmire.
Less than seven weeks into leading the nation's fourth-largest City, the longtime Chairman of the State Senate's Criminal Justice Committee told the City Council there are lessons to be learned from the loss of life at Lakewood, topped by the need for more psychological care and new limits on firearm possession by those failing to behave rationally.
"She was someone's daughter. It's just sad to listen to her neighbors talk about the concern over her behavior. That just, we as a society and certain agencies didn't respond, and red flag laws are certainly one possible addition to our tool kit," said Whitmire.
As for gunwoman Genesse Moreno's critically wounded 7-year-old son, Council Member Abie Kamin believes the boy was poorly served by a child protective system responsible for safe-guarding his life.
"This child, based upon what the Grandmother is saying, there were multiple opportunities for the State to intervene and protect this child," said Kamin.
Counselor and social worker Chau Nguyen says the Lakewood shooting is the latest consequence of a mental health care "safety net" shredded by neglect and chronic lack of investment.
"I can tell you people come in, and they are very, very sick, and the best we can do is to send them to Ben Taub (Hospital), so they can be there for three days and leave with a week of medication. How many times do we have to scream at the top of our lungs that here is going to be another mass shooting? Another massacre of children? Another massacre of adults, another massacre at a church?" said Nguyen.
Whitmire says he attempted, but failed to pass a "red flag law" banning sale of firearms to people with a documented history of mental illness.