Churchgoers about to enter Rev. Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church for its ministry’s Spanish-language service at 2 p.m. on Feb. 11 were met with terror and fear instead of praise and worship after a woman opened fire inside the Texas church, leading to an exchange of gunfire with police on the scene that left her dead and multiple people wounded, including a small child.
The Houston Police Department confirmed the shooting, posting on its X profile that there was an active shooting at the church’s address, 3700 Southwest Freeway, and warned people to stay away. Authorities also said that they have set up a family reunification location and are working to find family members scattered in the melee.
Osteen reposted the HPD’s tweet as a warning to his 10.1 million followers on the social media platform.
The church, which typically hosts an average attendance of 45,000 individuals, was broadcasting a live stream of another service when the sound of gunfire became audible in the background.
The active scene is at Lakewood Church on the SW Fwy service road. Traffic is very heavy near and on the service road. Please avoid the area and use alternate routes.
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) February 11, 2024
We have PIOs en route to the scene and will provide any and all updates here.#hounews https://t.co/m8FpXGShJ4
One witness reported that he heard between 20 to 30 gunshots as he fled the megachurch with his three young daughters. At the time of publishing, the HPD had not confirmed the exact number of shots fired.
During a news conference hosted by the HPD, Chief Troy Finner said that a 35-year-old female, armed with a rifle and wearing a trench coat and backpack, “entered the building accompanied by a small child approximately 4 to five years old.”
“Once she entered, at some point, she began to fire,” the chief said, noting that two off-duty officers working for the church sprang into action and fatally shot the woman.
“Unfortunately, the 5-year-old kid was hit and is in critical condition at our local hospital,” Finner said, adding that a 57-year-old man not connected to the incident was shot in his leg. The man was listed in stable condition at the time of this report.
Police also did not disclose whether the child was shot by police or the woman.
Finner, who declined to comment on the woman’s motive, stated that she claimed to have a bomb after she was shot. The department’s bomb squad searched the woman’s vehicle and backpack but found no explosives. However, they observed that she sprayed a substance on the ground, which made them call the Houston Fire Department to come in to support and assess its potential hazards.
The HFD chief said that his officers did not find “anything that is of concern” to the community.
While the police chief didn’t speak much about the identity or character of the shooter, he said, “If [the investigation shows] she put that baby in danger, I’m gonna put that blame on her.”
During the news conference, Osteen took to the mic to share that the church leadership is “devastated” and stated that in the church’s 65-year history, there had never been a shooting.
“We don’t understand why all these things happen, but we know God is in control,” he said before asking for the public to pray for the church and expressing gratitude that the shooting did not happen at the 11 a.m. service, where tens of thousands gather each Sunday.
The police force said that federal and local agents are working together to find answers about the church shooting. The chief said in the interim the officers involved in the deadly incident — one an HPD officer and the other a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officer — are being placed on leave as an investigation into the conduct of the two officers who shot the suspect begins.
