Shooting at Joel Osteens Lakewood Church in Houston ends with child shot

A woman wielding a long gun is dead and the child who was with her is in critical condition after the woman walked into a Texas evangelical megachurch on Sunday afternoon in Houston and opened fire, police said.

Off-duty law enforcement officers confronted the woman shortly after she entered the massive Lakewood Church building just before 2 p.m., when the church was changing between English and Spanish-speaking services, according to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner.

The woman fired several rounds and indicated she had a bomb before officers fired back, killing her and injuring the 5-year-old boy who was with her. Police did not elaborate on the child’s relationship to the woman.

The child was taken to a children’s hospital in critical condition. A 56-year-old man who was attending services suffered a gunshot wound to the hip, city fire officials said.

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The shooting set off panic inside the cavernous nondenominational church, which is home to Joel Osteen’s global ministry, welcomes nearly 45,000 worshipers weekly and broadcasts to more than 100 countries. It is the one of the largest megachurches in the nation. Witnesses told reporters that they barricaded themselves inside closets and took cover behind pillars as the shots rang out.

A live stream of the service on YouTube captured the sound of loud bangs coming from behind a speaker in front of the camera giving announcements in Spanish. Law enforcement evacuated businesses in a busy commercial center of Houston amid early reports of a second shooter. However, the situation involved just one shooter, Finner said.

A visibly shaken Osteen said during a news conference Sunday that he did not know why such things happen but was assured that “God is in control.”

While fans of all faiths read and watch Osteen for his general, encouraging words, he is controversial among other Christians who note his near-total silence on topics such as sin and doctrine.

A search warrant executed on Monday identified the shooter as Genesse Moreno, 36, who records show had a criminal record that included assault, fraud and drug charges.

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Police and fire officials said the woman was wearing a trench coat and carried a backpack when she entered the church. Finner said she sprayed a substance as she entered the west side of the building, which prompted police to run a complete sweep of the downtown building that was once a basketball stadium. A bomb-detecting robot was also deployed as a precaution to inspect the white vehicle they say the woman drove to the church.

Officers from multiple agencies executed a search warrant on a home about 50 miles north of Houston early Monday in connection with the shooting, according to Mike Holley, a spokesman for Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. They searched for evidence connected to aggravated assault, possession of a prohibited weapon and a hoax bomb, Holley said.

Lakewood Church is not holding in-person services on Monday, a staff member said.

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Finner asked Houstonians to pray for the child wounded in the attack.

The newly elected Democratic mayor of Houston, John Whitmire, who ran on a law-and-order platform, praised the Houston area agencies for their prompt and collaborative response to the active shooter.

“It’s unfortunate that on a day we want to attend church and watch America’s No. 1 sports event that we find ourselves gathering to respond to this tragedy,” he said.

Houston police and the mayor plan to hold a briefing Monday at 1:30 p.m. Central time.

Lifeway Research, owned by the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, did a survey of Protestant pastors last year. It found that by far the most popular security plans pastors have are an “intentional plan for an active shooter” and armed congregants. Fifty-four percent of the pastors polled said they have a plan involving armed churchgoers. Three years earlier, that number was 45 percent, Lifeway said.

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