Lone Gunwoman Opens Fire at Lakewood Church in Houston, Neutralized by Off-Duty Officers

The U.S. has witnessed another incident of shooting, this time by a lone gunwoman in a Church in Houston. The shooting happened on February 11, 2024, at Lakewood Church, Houston. It is one of the largest evangelical churches in the U.S. and is led by televangelist Joel Osteen. However, the gunwoman was shot dead by two off-duty police officers. In the gunfight, a child who is reported to have come with the woman was critically wounded while a man suffered gunshot wounds on his hip.

A woman in her early thirties opens fire in Lakewood Church, Houston

According to a report by Reuters, a woman in her early thirties entered the Lakewood Church at 02:00 p.m. local time with a long rifle. She was accompanied by a child who was 5 years old. As per Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, the woman started shooting indiscriminately. The people in the church ran for their lives before two off-duty law enforcement officers challenged the woman and shot her dead.

The two off-duty law enforcement officers, one a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent and the other a Houston police officer, shot dead the woman before she could kill anyone inside the church which was just going to host a Spanish-language service. The two people who were injured were a 5-year-old child and a middle-aged man. It is not clear if the child was hurt by a police bullet or by the shots fired by the woman. The relationship of the woman and the child is also not clear. Both the injured have been admitted to a hospital, and the child is reported to be in critical condition. The man who is reported to be out of danger is suffering from bullet wounds on his hip.

The police have not revealed the identity of the woman except that she is in her late thirties. The police are still investigating the full incident. The police have also not clarified if the child was caught in the crossfire.

The incident is also a rarity because it involved a woman since most of the mass shootings in the U.S. involved men. As per a report by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), 96% of mass attackers from 2016-2020 were male.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in a statement, has deplored the incident and said that he shares the grief with the Texas Lakewood Church community in Houston. The Texas Lakewood Church is one of the largest churches and is led by Osteen and his wife and co-pastor Victoria Osteen and can seat 16,000 people.