Possible Shooter Down At Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church: Police

A possible shooter was reported to be down at pastor Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, Houston County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in an update shared on his X account Sunday (February 11).

"Shooter is down. But it does not appear that @HCSOTexas deputies fired shots; other agencies fired. We continue to assist in a methodical/thorough search of the complex," Gonzalez wrote after initially reporting that the supsect was shot by a responding deputy.

The Houston Police Department confirmed that it was responding to a reported shooting at the mega church's address in a post shared on its X account Sunday.

"HPD is responding to reports of a shooting at 3700 Southwest Freeway. This is an on-going, active scene. Please avoid the area. Additional information will be provided as it is available," the department wrote.

Lakewood Church is located about six miles away from the downtown area of Houston. Witnesses at the scene told KPRC that they heard "at least 14 gunshots" fired by the shooter, who was described as possibly a female and reported to have opened fire in the church's lobby.

A woman told the news station that the incident took place as a service was being held.

“So there was one shot first and then there was a set of shots and then we started running and then there were multiple sets of shots, I can’t really count them, it was at least five times that they shot multiple times,” said Paula Laverde.