HOUSTON (AP) — A motive for why a lady in a trenchcoat opened fireplace in celeb pastor Joel Osteen’s megachurch in Texas remained unclear Monday after the taking pictures despatched worshippers dashing for security in between busy Sunday providers.
Police say two off-duty officers working safety at Osteen’s church, one of many largest megachurches within the U.S., shot and killed the suspect. Two different individuals have been additionally shot and injured, together with a 5-year-old boy who entered the church with the shooter and was taken to a hospital in vital situation.
Osteen mentioned the violence may have been worse if the taking pictures had occurred throughout the earlier and bigger late Sunday morning service.
Here’s what to know in regards to the taking pictures:
HOW DID THE SHOOTING UNFOLD?
The sound of gunshots inside the large church — which was previously the home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets — startled worshippers simply earlier than 2 p.m. Sunday, across the time many individuals have been on the point of later watch the Super Bowl.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner didn’t establish the suspect at a information convention Sunday whereas standing close to Osteen. He described the shooter as a lady in her early to mid-30s, saying she entered the church sporting a trenchcoat and backpack and armed with a protracted rifle, although he didn’t specify the precise weapon.
Finner mentioned the lady entered the church with the young boy however didn’t describe their relationship. The lady started taking pictures and was confronted by two off-duty officers, a Houston police officer and an agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, who returned fireplace. Finner mentioned the lady advised officers after being shot there was a bomb however a search discovered no explosives.
He and different authorities on the scene praised the officers for taking down the shooter.
“She had a long gun, and it could have been worse,” Finner mentioned. “But they stepped up and did their job.”
WHO ARE THE VICTIMS?
Authorities haven’t launched the identities of anybody concerned within the taking pictures.
It remained unclear how the the young boy, who was taken to a Houston youngsters’s hospital, was struck by gunfire. When requested whether or not the boy was shot by one of many off-duty officers returning fireplace on the suspect, Finner mentioned he didn’t need to speculate however added: “That female, that suspect, put that baby in danger. I’m going to put that blame on her.”
Authorities described the opposite sufferer as a person in his 50s who was wounded with an harm to his hip.
HOW DID WORSHIPPERS INSIDE REACT?
Alan Guity, whose household is from Honduras, has been a member of the church since 1998. He mentioned he heard gunshots whereas resting contained in the church’s sanctuary as his mom was working as an usher.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom. And I yelled, ‘Mom,’” he mentioned.
Guity, 35, mentioned he ran to his mom they usually each laid flat on the ground because the gunfire continued. Guity mentioned he and his mom prayed and stayed on the ground for about 5 minutes till somebody advised them it was protected to go away the building. As he was led outdoors, Guity may see individuals have been afraid and crying and on the lookout for family members.
Guity mentioned he and his mom tried to calm individuals down by worshiping and singing in Spanish, “Move in me, move in me. Touch my mind and my heart. Move within me Holy Spirit.”
WHO IS JOEL OSTEEN?
Osteen, 60, took the helm of Lakewood Church after John Osteen, his father and the church’s founding pastor, handed away in 1999. The church has grown dramatically underneath Joel Osteen and is commonly attended by 45,000 individuals weekly, making it the third-largest megachurch within the U.S., in line with the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
Osteen is a frontrunner of what’s often known as the prosperity gospel, a perception that God needs his followers to be rich and wholesome. He is the creator of a number of best-selling books, together with, “Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential.”
His televised providers attain about 100 international locations and renovating his church’s enviornment cost almost $100 million.
After Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston in 2017, Osteen opened his church to these in search of shelter after social media critics slammed the televangelist for not providing to accommodate individuals in want.
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Associated Press reporter Paul J. Weber in Texas contributed to this report.
