Heartbreaking video shows the moment worshipers at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church ran for cover as gunshots rang out in the Texas congregation.
Footage captured the horrifying seconds after a woman in a trench coat shot up the famous pastor’s megachurch in Houston, before being killed by two off-duty police officers.
The suspect entered the building during a Spanish sermon with a five-year-old boy shortly before 2 p.m. and the boy was shot and seriously injured.
Footage from the scene shows the chaotic moment as terrified parishioners run to safety after hearing several gunshots.
Police Chief Troy Finner said it was unclear whether the boy was hit by the officers — a 28-year-old Houston police officer and a 38-year-old Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent — who returned fire. Finner added that a 57-year-old man was wounded by a gunshot.
Heartbreaking video shows the moment worshipers at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church ran for cover as gunshots rang out in the Texas congregation.
Footage from the scene shows the chaotic moment when terrified parishioners run to safety after hearing several gunshots.
A woman in a trench coat walked into famed pastor Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch and started shooting Sunday afternoon and was killed by two off-duty security officers, 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 boy was hit by off-duty officers who returned fire. He said a 57-year-old man was also shot.
Finner said that after the woman started shooting, both officers “attacked” her and the woman died.
He praised the officers for quickly confronting the woman, 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 was injured in the hip is stable.
The shooting occurred between services at the megachurch that is regularly attended by 45,000 people each week, making it the third-largest megachurch in the United States, according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Osteen’s televised sermons reach about 100 countries.
It was unclear where Osteen was at the time, but he joined police at a later news conference and said the church is “devastated.”
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 shot him and their families.
“We will stay strong and continue to move forward,” Osteen said after officials spoke.
‘There are forces of evil, but the forces that are for us, the forces of God, are stronger than that. So let’s move forward strong and righteous, you know, doing what God 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 service began.
Carlos González, a worship singer, hugs a fellow church member after the shooting.
The shooter entered the Houston church with a 5-year-old boy shortly before 2 p.m. and the boy was shot and seriously injured.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a possible shooting at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, shortly after 2 p.m.
Houston Police Bomb Squad Members Respond to Shooting at Lakewood Church
Christina Rodriguez, who was inside 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 inside. of the building, then stood on a stairwell before being told it was safe to leave.
People remained outside the building as authorities evacuated the church.
Authorities later announced that a reunification center had been created for people to find their loved ones, at a nearby gym.
Witness Paula Laverde said: “So there was a shot first and then there was a series of shots and then we started running and then there were several series of shots, I can’t really count them, it was at least five times that he shot multiple times.
Longtime church member Alan Guity, whose family is from Honduras, said he was resting inside the church sanctuary before the 2:00 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 man ran to his mother and they both lay on the ground and prayed as the shooting 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 the people by worshiping and singing in Spanish: “Move in me, move in me.” Touch my mind and my heart. Move within me Holy Spirit.’
Houston police officers monitor displaced parishioners outside Lakewood Church.
Worshipers could be seen leaving the building as authorities evacuated the church ahead of the news conference.
Authorities announced that a reunification center had been set up at a nearby gym for people to find their loved ones.
At least 20 police and fire trucks were near one of the church entrances Sunday afternoon, including the fire department’s hazmat truck.
Guity was among many congregation members who waited Sunday night to be allowed to return to their vehicles as police continued to search the building. The church is located in what used to be a stadium where the NBA’s Houston Rockets played years ago.
The church said in a statement: ‘There is an active situation involving shots fired at Lakewood. Law enforcement is on the scene. That is all the information we have at this time. 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 go out to those affected by today’s tragic shooting and to the entire Lakewood Church community in Houston. Places of worship are sacred.’
At least 20 police and fire trucks were near one of the church entrances Sunday afternoon, including the fire department’s hazmat truck.
Finner said the woman was reported to have 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 ahead of the news conference.
Authorities announced that a reunification center had been set up at a nearby gym for people to find their loved ones.