2 injured, suspect dead after shooting at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church
HOUSTON (CNN, KPRC, KHOU) – Two people were injured in a shooting at Joel Osteen’s megachurch Sunday evening in Houston, Texas.
Police say a woman walked into the building with a child and a rifle.
She allegedly started shooting until two off-duty law enforcement officers fired back.
Houston police chief Troy Finner said the woman was armed with a long rifle while wearing a trench coat and backpack accompanied by a small child, around 4 or 5 years old.
Finner says the off-duty officers working security at the church confronted the woman, and she was later confirmed dead at the scene.
“I want to commend those officers. She had a long gun, and it could have been a lot worse. But they stepped up and they did their job, and I want to thank them for that,” Finner says.
However, the child who came to the church with the woman was also shot.
Finner says the child is in critical condition at a local hospital. The Houston police chief says it was unclear who fired the shot that struck the child.
The child’s relationship to the suspect is still unknown, according to police.
The officers involved in the shooting told investigators the woman claimed to have a bomb, but an immediate search found nothing.
One bystander at the scene, a 57-year-old man, was also injured, Finner says. That man is receiving treatment in the hospital for a gunshot to the leg.
Osteen says he is thankful the shooting did not happen earlier in the day.
“I can only image if it would have happened in the 11 o’clock service. You know, if there’s anything good of it, you know what? That she didn’t get in there and do a whole lot worse damage,” Osteen says.
He’s left hoping the decades old church will continue services without another scare like this.
“We are going to stay strong. We’re going to continue to move forward. There are forces of evil, but … the forces of God are stronger than that,” Osteen says.
Police believe this was an isolated incident, and there is no danger to the public.
Both law enforcement officers involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.
