"Of course, we're devastated. We don't understand why these things happen," Joel Osteen said.
A woman wearing a trenchcoat and armed with a long rifle was fatally shot by law enforcement officers after allegedly opening fire at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church on Sunday afternoon.
According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the reported shooting happened in the 3700 block of the Southwest Freeway, at Lakewood Church.
Joel Osteen, who cofounded Lakewood Church, said they were in between services, going into the Spanish service when the shooting started.
Don't worry, the off duty cops attending also shot an elderly man and a five year old child just in case. So even tho the attempted mass shooter didn't shoot any innocent people, the cops have it covered.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said at 1:53 p.m., a female, approximately 30-35 years old entered on the west side of the property parking lot. She was armed with a long rifle, wearing a trench coat and a backpack, and accompanied by a 4 or 5-year-old child. Finner said she began to fire the gun after she entered.
Finner complimented the off-duty officers on the scene, one an officer with Houston PD and the other an ATF agent, who both quickly engaged with the female suspect, returning fire.
"It could have been a lot worse," said Finner. "They stepped up and did their job."
The off-duty officers said the woman threatened to have a bomb after she was shot. Her vehicle and backpack were searched and no bomb was found. She died at the scene.
Finner said the child with the woman was hit and is in critical condition at Children's Texas.
A 57-year-old man was also shot in the leg and is being treated at the hospital.
In Texas there are lots of churches where members proudly open carry. They're the same people with the "we don't call 911 in this house" yard signs. They desperately want to kill somebody.