A harrowing video shows the moment worshipers at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church took cover as shots rang out in the Texas congregation.
The footage captured the gruesome seconds after a woman in a trench coat shot up the famed pastor’s megachurch in Houston before being killed by two off-duty police officers.
The suspect entered the building during a Spanish-language sermon with a five-year-old boy shortly before 2 p.m. and the child was shot and seriously injured.
Footage from the scene shows the chaotic moment as terrified parishioners scrambled to safety after hearing several gunshots.
Police Chief Troy Finner said it was not clear whether the young child was struck by the officers — a 28-year-old Houston police officer and a 38-year-old agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission — who returned fire. Finner added that a 57-year-old man had been shot and injured.
A harrowing video shows the moment worshipers at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church took cover as shots rang out in the Texas congregation
Footage from the scene shows the chaotic moment as terrified parishioners scrambled to safety after hearing several gunshots
A woman in a trench coat entered famed pastor Joel Osteen’s megachurch in Houston and began shooting and was killed Sunday afternoon by two off-duty officers working security, police said
Osteen said the shooting could have been much worse if it had occurred during the larger 11 a.m. service
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said it was unclear whether the young child was hit by the off-duty officers who returned fire. He said a 57-year-old man was also shot and wounded
Finner said that after the woman started shooting, both officers “engaged” her and the woman was killed.
He praised officers for confronting the woman so quickly, adding: “She had a long gun and it could have been a lot worse.”
The child was in critical condition after being taken to a hospital. The man who suffered a hip injury was stable.
The shooting occurred between services at the megachurch, which is attended by 45,000 people each week, making it the third-largest megachurch in the U.S., according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Osteen’s television sermons reach approximately 100 countries.
It was not clear where Osteen was at the time, but he joined police at a news conference afterward and said the church was “destroyed.”
But he added that the shooting could have been much worse if it had occurred during the larger 11 a.m. service.
He added that he would pray for the victims and for the woman who committed the shooting and their families.
“We will stay strong and we will continue to do so, moving forward,” Osteen said after authorities spoke.
“There are forces of evil, but the forces that are for us – the forces of God – are stronger than that. So we’re going to continue to act strong and just, you know, and do what God has called us to do: lift people up and give hope to the world.”
Witnesses told reporters they heard multiple gunshots shortly before the church’s 2 p.m. Spanish-language service was to begin.
Carlos Gonzalez, a worship singer, hugs a fellow churchgoer after the shooting
The gunman entered the Houston church with a 5-year-old boy shortly before 2 p.m. and the child was shot and seriously injured.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said officers responded to a possible shooting at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, shortly after 2 p.m.
Members of the Houston Police Bomb Squad respond to a shooting at Lakewood Church
Christina Rodriguez, who was at the church, told Houston television station KTRK that she “started yelling, ‘There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter,’ and then she and others ran to the back of a library in the building . stood in a stairway before being told it was safe to leave.
People stood outside the building as authorities cleared the church.
Officials later announced that a reunification center had been set up for people to find their loved ones at a nearby fitness center.
Witness Paula Laverde said: ‘So there was first one shot and then there was a series of shots and then we started running and then there were multiple series of shots, I can’t really count them, it was at least five times they were shot multiple times .’
Longtime church member Alan Guity, whose family is from Honduras, said he was resting in the church’s sanctuary before the 2 p.m. service while his mother was working as an usher when he heard gunshots.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom and I screamed, ‘Mom,’” he said.
The 35-year-old ran to his mother and they both lay flat on the ground and prayed as the gunfire continued. They stayed there for about five minutes until someone told them it was safe to evacuate.
Outside, Guity said, he and his mother tried to calm people down by worshiping in Spanish and singing, “Move in me, move in me.” Touch my mind and my heart. Move in me Holy Spirit.”
Houston police officers watch over displaced churchgoers outside Lakewood Church,
Worshipers could be seen leaving the building as authorities evacuated the church before the press conference
Officials announced that a reunification center had been set up at a nearby gym where people could find their loved ones
At least twenty police and fire trucks were near one of the church entrances on Sunday afternoon, including the fire brigade’s hazardous materials truck
Guity was one of several congregants waiting to return to their vehicles Sunday evening as police continued to search the building. The church is located in what used to be an arena where the NBA’s Houston Rockets played years ago.
The church said in a statement: “There is an active shooting situation at Lakewood. The police are on the scene. That’s all the information we have at the moment. Please pray for Lakewood and our community.”
One witness said he heard about 30 gunshots as he ran out of the church with his daughters.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said: “Our hearts are with those affected by today’s tragic shooting and with the entire Lakewood Church community in Houston. Places of worship are sacred.”
At least twenty police and fire trucks were near one of the entrances to the church on Sunday afternoon, including the fire brigade’s truck with hazardous materials.
Finner said it was reported the woman had a bomb, but no explosives were found when her vehicle and backpack were searched.
Worshipers could be seen leaving the building as authorities evacuated the church before the press conference.
Officials announced that a reunification center had been set up at a nearby gym where people could find their loved ones.