The female suspect who police say opened fire at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, Sunday afternoon has been killed.
The woman, about 30-35 years of age, walked into the church’s property shortly before 2 p.m., accompanied by a child at about the age of 5, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told reporters. The woman reportedly had a long rifle, wore a trench coat, and had a backpack on, and she began shooting, causing panic and a heavy police response.
Two off-duty police officers shot and killed the suspect, though they also shot the girl, who is in critical condition at an area hospital, according to Finner. A 57-year-old man, believed to be uninvolved in the crime, was shot in the leg and is receiving treatment.
Finner said that the woman threatened that she had a bomb, and law enforcement searched her vehicle and the backpack and found no explosives. “But she was also spraying some type of substance on the ground,” the police chief added, prompting responders to check the area for safety.
Reports of the shooting caused a flurry of panic at the church, which is regularly attended by 45,000 people every week, according to the Associated Press. Osteen’s high-profile name also caused the reports to go viral on social media.
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Osteen spoke after the shooting as well, thanking the police officers and saying he was “devastated” by the crime, yet he recognized “it could have been a lot worse.”
“We don’t understand why these things happen, but we know God’s in control,” Osteen added. “We’re going to stay strong. We’re going to continue to move forward. There are forces of evil, but the forces of God are stronger than that.”
