By Rebecca Cohen -
NBC News
The Houston, Texas, Police and Fire Departments are responding to reports of a shooting at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in that city, authorities said.
Police responded to reports of a shooting at 3700 Southwest Freeway — the address of Lakewood Church — this afternoon around 2:24 p.m. (local time), the department said on social media site X.
Fire Department spokesperson Martee Black confirmed that the agency is responding to a
shooting at Lakewood Church
.
Images and videos from outside the church showed police cars and emergency vehicles lined up.
When asked about the number of people who were shot or injured, Black responded, “I don't know” and referred NBC News to the Houston Police Department for more information.
Police said
the incident is ongoing
and asked people to avoid the area.
Facade of Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, where pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen preach, in Houston, Texas. Aaron M. Sprecher / AP
“There is an active situation involving shots fired in Lakewood.
Law enforcement
is on scene
,” Lakewood Church posted on X. “That is all the information we have at this time.
Please pray for Lakewood and our community.”
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzales said on the same social network that “the information remains preliminary, since what happens is changing.”
The possible attacker is believed
to have been shot by one of the police officers at the scene
and was knocked to the ground, Gonzales said.
A Colombian woman identified only as María, a witness to the shooting, testified that she heard the first shot about eight minutes before the church service began.
“After the second shot, everyone started running.
I ran with my children [...] with my family,” he told local network KPRC, an NBC News affiliate.
Then he heard eight more shots.
She and her family lay on the ground until someone told them they could leave the church.
She said she called her husband and father to tell them “I love you” thinking it might be the last time.
And she added that she never imagined that she would witness an incident of this nature.