Police rush to ‘possible shooting’ at church run by celeb pastor Joel Osteen

Police in Texas are responding to a possible shooting at a megachurch run by celebrity pastor Joel Osteen.

A statement from Lakewood Church in Houston shared on social media said there was ‘an active situation involving shots fired’.

Witnesses said they heard multiple shots fired at around 2pm, when the church’s 2pm Spanish language service was set to start.

Its statement added: ‘That is all the information we have at this time. Please pray for Lakewood and our community.’

A Houston police spokeswoman said officers were responding to the church, but did not have any more information about the ongoing situation.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a tweet on X that it was ‘believed that a possible shooter is down, shot by one of our deputies on-scene’.

The police also described the situation as an ‘ongoing, active scene’ and asked for people to avoid the area.

Around 45,000 people attend weekly services at Lakewood, making it the third largest church in the US.

Joel Osteen’s services are televised in around 100 countries and he’s written several best-selling books.

This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

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