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A boy was critically injured on Sunday afternoon after a girl opened fireplace at a Christian megachurch in Houston led by Joel Osteen, the televangelist and pastor, the authorities mentioned.
At simply earlier than 2 p.m., the lady, holding a rifle, carrying a trench coat and carrying a backpack, entered Lakewood Church, among the many largest congregations in the US. She got here with a boy of about 4 or 5 years previous, Chief Troy Finner of the Houston Police Division mentioned at a information convention on Sunday.
Two off-duty regulation enforcement officers who have been working on the church on Sunday shot and killed the lady after she opened fireplace, Chief Finner mentioned.
The boy was additionally shot, although it’s unclear by whom. He was in essential situation at a hospital. A person in his 50s who was shot within the leg was hospitalized in steady situation, the chief mentioned.
The girl, who was described by officers as being in her 30s, additionally threatened that she had a bomb, and appeared to have sprayed an unidentified substance on the bottom, Chief Finner mentioned. The authorities didn’t discover any explosives, he mentioned.
“She had an extended gun and it may have been quite a bit worse,” he mentioned. The motive for the capturing was unclear.
The capturing occurred as a Spanish-language service was starting. The church, which is attended every week by 45,000 individuals, attracts a fair bigger viewers for Mr. Osteen’s sermons on-line and on tv.
Movies posted to the church’s social media appeared to point out congregants standing and cheering earlier on Sunday as a band performed onstage. One other confirmed Mr. Osteen, who’s the son of Lakewood’s founder and took over the church in 1999, addressing congregants.
Mr. Osteen is without doubt one of the nation’s best-known preachers within the prosperity gospel motion, which teaches that God materially rewards people who find themselves trustworthy to him. His sermons are recognized for being easy, upbeat and bordering on self-help.
“I’m in a fog, however we’re going to remain robust,” Mr. Osteen mentioned on the information convention. “There are forces of evil, however the forces of God are stronger than that.”
The church’s web site mentioned Sunday night’s repeatedly scheduled on-line service had been canceled.
Del Davis, 71, and his spouse, Denise, have been contained in the church and making their method out as Mr. Davis mentioned he heard gunfire. An avid gun collector and retired paramedic, he mentioned he may inform instantly they have been gunshots.
“I do know gunshots after I hear them,” he mentioned. “And I may scent the gun smoke.”
He mentioned he and his spouse, who’re volunteers on the church, fled because the crowds scattered. “It’s at all times full,” he mentioned of the providers on the church.
One other eyewitness informed the tv station KHOU that she was contained in the church when she heard a number of gunshots and noticed an individual holding a firearm. She mentioned she ran right into a smaller room the place she sheltered with about 10 different individuals, together with a baby.
“We have been grateful,” the lady informed KHOU. “It may have been worse.”
Ruth Graham contributed reporting.
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