Shooting injures two at Joel Osteen's Texas megachurch between services

A woman’s motive for opening fire in celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s megachurch was unclear Monday, a day after the shooting sent worshippers rushing for safety in between busy services.

Police say two off-duty officers working security at Lakewood Church, one of the largest megachurches in the U.S., shot and killed the suspect. Two other people were also shot and wounded, including a 5-year-old boy who entered the church with the shooter and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Osteen said the violence could have been worse if the shooting had happened during the earlier and larger late Sunday morning service.

The sound of gunshots inside the massive church, which was formerly the home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, startled worshippers just before 2 p.m. Sunday, around the time many people were getting ready to later watch the Super Bowl.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner did not identify the suspect at a news conference Sunday while standing near Osteen. He described the shooter as a woman in her early to mid-30s, saying she entered the church wearing a trenchcoat and backpack and armed with a long rifle, though he did not specify the exact weapon.

Finner said the woman entered the church with the young boy but did not describe their relationship. The woman began shooting and was confronted by two off-duty officers, a Houston police officer and an agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, who returned fire. Finner said the woman told officers after being shot there was a bomb but a search found no explosives.

He and other authorities at the scene praised the officers for taking down the shooter.

“She had a long gun, and it could have been worse,” Finner said. “But they stepped up and did their job.”

It was unclear how the the young boy, who was taken to a Houston children’s hospital, was struck by gunfire. When asked whether the boy was shot by one of the off-duty officers returning fire on the suspect, Finner said he did not want to speculate but added: “That female, that suspect, put that baby in danger. I’m going to put that blame on her.”

Authorities described the other victim as a man in his 50s who was wounded in his hip.




FILE - Flags fly in front of the Lakewood Church in Houston, June 28, 2005.  (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)