Man and child injured, armed suspect killed at Lakewood church shooting in Texas

A woman with a rifle was killed by two off-duty police officers – while a child was critically wounded – on Sunday at a megachurch in Houston, Texas, run by prominent evangelical Christian pastor Joel Osteen, the city’s police chief said, Report informs via The Guardian.

Troy Finner said it was not clear whether the five-year-old boy was struck by the officers who returned fire after the woman, wearing a trenchcoat, entered Osteen’s Lakewood church with the boy shortly before 2pm and began shooting.

A 57-year-old man was also shot and wounded, the police chief said. The child was in critical condition at a children’s hospital while the man was stable at a different hospital with a hip wound.

Houston’s channel3now.com reported the woman entered the church claiming to have a bomb, but Finner said later that no explosives were found when her vehicle and backpack were searched.

A second adult – a man – carrying a rifle was later evading authorities in the vicinity of restaurants near the church, Channel 3 Now reported.

Finner said that after the woman began shooting, both off-duty officers “engaged” her and the woman was killed. He said that unfortunately “a five-year-old kid was hit”, although he released no immediate details on how the confrontation unfolded.

He praised the officers for quickly confronting the woman, adding: “She had a long gun, and it could have been a lot worse.”

The shooting happened between services at the megachurch, which is the third-largest in the US according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Osteen’s televised sermons reach about 100 countries.

It was not clear where Osteen was at the time. He joined police at a news conference afterwards and said the church was “devastated”, adding that the shooting could have been much worse if it had happened during the larger 11am service. He would pray for the victims and for the woman who did the shooting and their families.

“We’re going to stay strong and we’re going to continue to, to move forward,” Osteen said. “There are forces of evil, but the forces that are for us – the forces of God – are stronger than that.”

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, said in a statement: “Our hearts are with those [affected] by today’s tragic shooting and the entire Lakewood church community in Houston. Places of worship are sacred.”

Osteen’s Lakewood church resides in a complex that used to host games for the Houston Rockets pro basketball team. The building was previously known as the Summit and then the Compaq Center.

A total of about 45,000 people attend Lakewood’s various services each week.