Two people, including a child, were injured in a shooting Sunday afternoon at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church.
Police said a woman, armed with a long rifle and wearing a trench coat, entered the Houston megachurch with a young boy before opening fire just before 2 p.m.
“I want to commend those officers,” Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said at a press conference Sunday. “She had a long gun and it could have been a lot worse, but they stepped up and did their job.”
Jennifer Lake/Sipa via AP
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A 57-year-old man was shot in the leg and is in stable condition, Finner said.
Joel Osteen.Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty
Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty
“Once she went down, officers reported back to us that she threatened that she had a bomb, so we searched her vehicle, our bomb squad, and also the backpack," Finner said. “No explosives were found but she was also spraying some type of substance on the ground.”
Finner said the woman acted alone.
Joel Osteen.Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx/AP
Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx/AP
At the press conference, Osteen said the shooting occurred between services.
“I can only imagine if it would have happened during the 11 o’clock service we were in between services and going into the Spanish service” he said. “If there is anything good of it she didn’t get in there and do a whole lot worse damage.”
“We are devastated,” he said. “We have been here 65 years and have someone shooting in your church.”
The motive for the shooting is unknown. “I don’t want to talk about her motivations because I don’t know,” said Finner. “We may never know the full story.”
source: people.com
