The Houston Police Department (HPD) released officer bodycam footage last Monday (Feb. 26), showing the fatal shooting of a 36-year-old woman who entered Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church at approximately 1:53 p.m. (CST) on Sunday, Feb. 11, with an assault rifle.
Video footage obtained from the church revealed that the woman drove a white SUV and parked at the west entrance of the megachurch. She then got out of the vehicle wearing a trench coat and a backpack and removed her 7-year-old son from the back seat, taking him by the hand as she entered the church lobby.
When she entered the church, Lakewood was holding its Spanish-language service. Police shared that the shooter attempted to enter the sanctuary but wasn’t able to because the doors were locked. Police also informed the public that the shooter was armed with a second rifle concealed in her bag.
RELATED: Woman Opens Fire at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, Shot Dead by Church Security
An off-duty HPD officer who was working security at the church exchanged gunfire with the woman after being alerted by a church volunteer.
Following the exchange of gunfire, a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officer, who was also working security at the church, rushed to the scene and engaged in the shooting as well.
In the video footage, the shooter can be heard shouting at officers, “I will blow up the whole f**cking place. You killed my son! Stand down. I have a bomb. I have a f**cking bomb. Stay calm. All I need is help. All I need is help. I need help. That’s all. I just need help. There’s a bomb in this bag. Stop shooting,” as she continued to discharge her firearm.
The off-duty officers can be heard yelling at the shooter to put her weapon down. “No, there’s a bomb,” the shooter replied. “I won’t. The bomb is gonna go off.”
The officers then shot and killed the woman. She was declared dead at the scene.
The shooter’s 7-year-old son, Samuel Moreno, was struck in the head and a 47-year-old man at the church was shot in the hip in the exchange of gunfire.
Security camera footage shows the shooter’s son visibly scared, holding his hands over his ears amid the gunfire. At one point, while his mother wasn’t shooting, the boy could be seen putting his arms out towards her in an attempt to be held.
An officer’s bodycam video shows Samuel lying on the floor barely moving his arms as police call for an ambulance.
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