Lakewood Church shooting: Police hold presser after woman leaves boy critically hurt

Houston police chief says the child injured in Sunday’s shooting is “fighting for his life.”

The 57-year-old who was shot has been released from the hospital, he added.

He asked for prayers for both of the wounded, their families and the community.

Several law enforcement agencies are giving an update on the shooting that unfolded at Joel Osteen’s megachurch Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas on Sunday.

The woman who walked into the megachurch on Sunday also threatened that she had a bomb.

But when police searched her vehicle and backpack, they found no explosives, Houston police said.

Chief Finner said at a news conference that the woman was also spraying “some type of substance on the ground,” but did not provide details about what the substance could be.

On Sunday night, officials searched a home in Conroe, Texas, in connection with the shooting, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed Monday.

Spokesperson Melissa Garcia told CNN the ATF-Houston Division was one of the law enforcement agencies involved in the search, but provided no additional details on what they were searching for.

The home is about 50 minutes north of Lakewood Church.

A woman, armed with a long rifle and thought to be around 30 to 35 years old, entered the west side of the megachurch at around 1.53pm on Sunday.

She was dressed in a trench coat and a backpack and was accompanied by a small child aged around four to five years old.

She began to fire, and two off-duty officers, one a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent and the other a Houston police officer, engaged and struck the woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Alan Guity, a longtime church member, said he was inside the church’s sanctuary before the Spanish service with his mother, who was working as an usher, when he heard gunshots.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom and I yelled, ‘Mom,’ ” he told the Associated Press.

Mr Guity and his mother both lay flat and prayed as the gunfire carried on. They remained there for around five minutes until they were told it was safe to evacuate, the outlet said.

“Places of worship. That’s what they are, and that’s what they will remain in our city,” Chief Finner said at the conference.

The child who was with the shooter was injured in the incident and is currently in Texas Children’s Hospital in critical condition.

Officers are currently unclear at this stage how the child was injured. It is also unclear what relation the woman had to the young child.

When asked if officers had shot the boy, Chief Finner said if they had “that female, that suspect, put that baby in danger. I’m going to put that blame on her.”

Another victim, a 57-year-old man, was also shot in the leg and is seeking treatment in hospital but is believed to be in a stable condition.

Officials said they fatally shot the female shooter, believed to be between the ages of 30-to-35, during a news conference outside pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.

One child has been shot after a shooting. He is believed to be around five years old and is in critical condition at Texas Children’s Hospital. A 57-year-old man was transported to another area hospital after he was shot in the leg but is in stable condition.

Houston Police are expected to give an update on the shooting investigation at a presser set for 1.30p CT/ 2.30p ET.

It will be livestreamed on the police social media pages.

Lakewood Church, home to famed pastor Joel Osteen’s congregation, draws more than 45,000 worshippers through its doors each week.

It’s one of the United States’ largest Christian churches, seating around 16,000 congregants in its auditorium at any given time.

Now, it’s also a crime scene after it became the site of a terrifying shooting over the weekend.