Investigation underway at the Lakewood mega church in Houston: A potential shooter neutralized
Lakewood Church Shooting News
Texas police said Sunday they were responding to a possible shooting in the mega-church of Houston led by the famous pastor Joel Osteen. In a tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, Lakewood Church said there was “an active situation involving shots fired” at the church. “This is all the information we have at the moment. Please pray for Lakewood and our community,” the church said in the message.
Jodi Silva, a Houston police spokeswoman, said officers were responding to the church but had no additional details.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a tweet on deputies on site.” He later stated that any further information would be released by the police and went to the scene.
Christina Rodriguez, who was inside the mega church, told KTRK that she “started yelling, ‘There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter’.” “, then she and others ran to the back of a library inside the building, then stood on a staircase before they were told they could leave in complete safety.
Joel Osteen Lakewood Church Shooting
On Sunday February 11, around 1:53 p.m., a woman of around thirty years old entered the Evangelical Church of Lakewood Texas, accompanied by a five-year-old child. Taking advantage of the gap between two worship services, she opened fire and injured a 57-year-old man in the leg. Fortunately, the two police officers present on the scene quickly brought the situation under control by neutralizing it.
Lakewood Church Shooting Victims
Although they were not on duty, they reacted quickly by neutralizing the attacker. During this intervention, the victim who accompanied the shooter, an unidentified young boy, was injured. According to The Christian Post, he is currently hospitalized in critical condition at Texas Children’s Hospital. On the other hand, the injured man is in a stable condition.
People stood outside the building as authorities evacuated the church. Authorities later announced that a reunification center had been created so people could reunite with their loved ones at a nearby fitness center.
Witnesses told journalists they heard several shots fired around 2 p.m. The Spanish language service was about to begin.
Approximately 45,000 people attend weekly services in Lakewood, making it the third largest mega church in the United States. United States, according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Osteen’s televised sermons reach approximately 100 countries.
—
Other links:
15 countries, 168 violations of Christian religious freedom in four years