HOUSTON, TX — As investigators continue to put together the pieces of the puzzle left behind by the shooting at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, Houston Police said they may never know the motive of the shooter who wrote "Free Palestine" on his gun.
Though law enforcement has been able to determine the shooter's identity, background, criminal history, origin, aliases, social media posts, and political views, and the gun used in the incident had "Free Palestine" written on it, a police department spokesman expressed doubt that the perpetrator's motivation would ever come to light.
"It remains an enigma wrapped in a riddle," said Houston Police Commander Chris Hassig at a press briefing. "If there were any type of clues left behind in the suspect's social media posts or on the weapon, we might have a chance at unraveling the mystery, but as it stands now, we just don't know what could have motivated this incident."
The shooter, who was identified as a pro-Palestine, transgender illegal immigrant with an extensive criminal record, opened fire at Lakewood Church on Sunday before being killed by two off-duty law enforcement officers who returned fire. "Why this individual did this is a complete unknown at this time," Hassig said. "Perhaps there were political or social motivations, but unfortunately, we may never know the answer."
"The important thing is we all have to remember to respect the suspect's pronouns."
At publishing time, investigators were trying to make sense of a large, custom-made, flashing neon sign found at the shooter's home that said "I HATE ISRAEL" to determine if it could provide any clues about a motive.
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