A shooting took place at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, on Sunday.
Fox News reports that the shooting broke out just before 2 p.m., which, according to the outlet, was "around the time that the Spanish language church service was scheduled to start." The chief suspect is a woman who is reported to be around 30 to 35 years of age. The name of the suspect has yet to be released.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner has provided details about the shooting. Here's the press conference:
HPD Chief Troy Finner breaks down the shooting that occurred at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Texas.
He says the female shooter is deceased. A 5-year-old child is in critical condition, and a 57-year-old man was shot in the leg. pic.twitter.com/ILRsjDmb0p
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 11, 2024
In the above video, Finner said that a woman essentially walked into the church and began shooting.
The Washington Examiner reports:
The woman, about 30-35 years of age, walked into the church’s property shortly before 2 p.m., accompanied by a child at about the age of 5, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told reporters. The woman reportedly had a long rifle, wore a trench coat, and had a backpack on, and she began shooting, causing panic and a heavy police response.
In response, Finner said that two off-duty police officers opened fire on the suspect, killing her.
Finner added that, in the course of doing so, the off-duty police officers struck two other individuals. One of the individuals was the 5-year-old child whom the woman brought with her. The unidentified child, at the time of this writing, is reported to be in critical condition at the hospital.
The second person whom the off-duty police officers shot is a 57-year-old male who is not believed to have been involved in the shooting. The unidentified male is reported to have been shot in the leg, and it appears that he is likely to survive his injuries.
Following the incident, Osteen released a statement on the matter.
Fox reports that Osteen "thanked law enforcement," said that he was "devastated" by the shooting, and concluded that "there are forces of evil, but the forces that are for us, the forces of God, are stronger than that."
At the time of this writing, the woman's motive for the shooting remains unknown.
It has been reported that, before opening fire, the woman claimed that she had a bomb. It is also reported that she sprayed "some type of substance" on the ground.
The bomb claim turned out to be false, and the substance has yet to be identified.
