POLICE: Dead Female Suspect Brought Child, Now In Critical, In Shooting At Osteen’s Lakewood Church; One Other Injured

The deceased shooter at Joel Olsteen’s Lakewood Church was a female armed with a long rifle, wearing a trench coat, accompanied by a small child who is now in critical condition after being hit, according to law enforcement.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner revealed in a Sunday news conference following the incident that the shooter was a woman between the ages of 30-35. The shooter brought the 4 to 5 year old child with her to the shooting.

When she began firing, two off-duty law enforcement officers, one a Houston cop and the other a federal officer, engaged the suspect, shooting and killing her. The child was also struck and is in critical condition.

Asked by a reporter whether it was the officers shots that struck the child, Finner said he had “no idea right now” if that was the case. “She fired, we don’t know. And I don’t want to speculate on that.”

“I will say this. If it was — Unfortunate. And that female, that suspectm put that baby in danger. I’m going to put that blame on her,” Finner said.

“Unfortunately, the 5-year-old kid was hit and is in critical condition at a local hospital,” he continued. “There was a 57-year-old man who didn’t have anything to do with it, I don’t think, who was shot in the leg. He’s seeking treatment in the hospital.”

The motivation of the shooter is unclear and the relationship she had with the child has not been discovered by law enforcement.

Watch below for more information about the shooting:

Per CNN, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also issued a statement following the shooting:

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez also posted about the incident, saying the possible shooter appeared to be down. He had earlier said a Harris County sheriff’s deputy had fired the shot, but later clarified that did not appear to be the case, saying “other agencies fired.”

In a statement Sunday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, “Our hearts are with those impacted by today’s tragic shooting and the entire Lakewood Church community in Houston. Places of worship are sacred.”

The governor added he has been in contact with local and state officials to “help this community and help bring swift justice to the criminal who committed this heinous act.”

Watch the clip above via KTRK ABC 13 in Houston.