Off-duty police officers put down a would-be mass shooter at Joel Osteen's Houston-area ministry. Permanently.
A woman opened fire with a long gun inside the celebrity pastor's Lakewood megachurch in-between services on Sunday afternoon. The woman, who is believed to be between the ages of 30 and 35, has not yet been identified. She arrived at the church accompanied by a 5-year-old boy and wearing a trench coat.
At a press conference, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner announced that the 5-year-old boy was shot and hospitalized in critical condition. A 57-year-old man, not involved in the incident, was also shot but is in stable condition.
The shooter threatened that she had a bomb, but a search of her backpack and vehicle did not find any explosive materials. The woman sprayed an unidentifiable substance, prompting the Houston Fire Department to respond with a hazmat team. Fire Chief Samuel Peña said the investigation found “nothing of concern.”
Osteen spoke to reporters after the shooting, which he said “could've been a lot worse.”
The Texas Tribune reports:
Law enforcement did not identify the shooter's motive or her identity. She entered the church minutes before the start of the 2 p.m. Spanish-language service.
“It's unfortunate that on the day we want to attend church and watch America's No. 1 sports event, we find ourselves gathered here to respond to this tragedy,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said during the press conference. “We want Houstonians to know they are being protected by their first responders.”
Whitmire thanked first responders for their collaboration. Officers from the Harris County Sheriff's Department, Houston Fire Department and Houston Police Department were on scene. The two off-duty agents who shot the shooter were from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Houston Police Department.
Lakewood Church is about 6 miles outside of downtown Houston in the former arena for the Houston Rockets. The nondenominational, evangelical Christian church attracts people from across the country both in person and online.
The church has a seating capacity of 16,000 people. During the press conference, Osteen appeared visibly shaken and stated that he was “in a fog.”
“We don't understand why these things happen, but we know God is in control,” he added. “We are going to pray for the little 5-year-old boy and the lady that was deceased, her family and the other gentlemen.”
READ NEXT: FBI Investigating After Conservative Offices Firebombed
