LE††UCE PREY
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the shooter is down. He walked back an earlier post on X that said that the shooter was shot by an on-scene deputy. In an updated post, he said that someone from a different agency fired.
When asked about the number of people who were shot or injured, Black said, “I don’t know” and referred NBC News to the Houston Police Department for more information.
“There is an active situation involving shots fired at Lakewood. Law enforcement is on the scene,” Lakewood Church posted on X. “That is all the information we have at this time. Please pray for Lakewood and our community.”
A woman named Maria who is from Colombia and witnessed the shooting said she heard the first shot fired about eight minutes before a church service started.
“After the second shot, everybody started running. I ran with my kids … my family,” she told local NBC News affiliate KPRC.
Then she heard eight more shots, she said. She and her family laid down on the floor until someone told them it was safe to leave the church.
She said she called her husband and father to say “I love you” thinking it might be the last time. She said she never imagined she would be in something like this.
A Lakewood parishioner at the scene told CNN affiliate KPRC he was inside the church waiting for the Spanish language service to start when he heard multiple shots fired. The man was then instructed by a church usher to run, he told KPRC. The service was slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET, according to the church website.
In a statement Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott said, “Our hearts are with those impacted by today’s tragic shooting and the entire Lakewood Church community in Houston. Places of worship are sacred.”
Joel says God is in control and thanks him for not letting the shooting happen during the 11 o’clock service.
UPDATE:
LATEST: Houston Police Chief Troy Finner says woman — accompanied by a “small child” – with a long rifle opened fire after entering Lakewood Church in Houston. He says two officers engaged the woman, killing her. The child that accompanied the woman is in “critical condition.” There was also a 57 year old man that was shot in the leg and is being treated. The Police Chief believes he was an innocent bystander.
