TEXAS — A shooting was reported on Sunday by authorities at Lakewood Church in the 3700 block of Southwest Freeway.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez has confirmed that the shooter is down. According to police during a media briefing, the shooter, a female in her 30s or 40s, was armed with a long rifle in her hands as she held onto a small child's hand. The 5-year-old child was shot and remains in critical condition.
A man in his 50s was also shot in the leg and is currently in the hospital.
The police have said that this is an isolated incident, but they are still investigating the scene.
Houston Police announced that the family reunification site is at Lifetime fitness in the Greenway Plaza area.
According to social media, Gonzalez claimed that some HCSO deputies have “extra-jobs” at the church. It is believed by Gonzalez that the shooter is no longer a threat. The sheriff has said that he is en route to the scene.
The active scene is at Lakewood Church on the Southwest Freeway service road. Authorities are vising the public to avoid the area and use alternate routes.
On X, HPD confirmed an ongoing, active scene at Lakewood Church.
Christina Rodriguez, who was inside the church, told KTRK that she “started screaming, ‘There’s a shooter, there's a shooter,'” and then she and others ran to the backside of a library inside the building, then stood in a stairway before they were told it was safe to leave.
Witnesses told reporters that they heard multiple shots fired around the time the church’s 2 p.m. Spanish language service was set to begin.
About 45,000 people attend weekly services at Lakewood, making it the third largest megachurch in the U.S., according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Lakewood Church is televangelist Joel Osteen's megachurch in Houston. Osteen’s televised sermons reach about 100 countries.