Had son with her

Woman opened fire in huge US church

Thousands of people attend the services at Lakewood Church.(Bild: AP)

A woman opened fire with a long gun in a well-known megachurch in Houston, Texas, on Sunday. She was shot dead shortly afterwards by security forces present, as the police authority responsible announced at a press conference. 

The security forces were two off-duty police officers. The shooter had her seven-year-old son with her, it added. The boy had been shot in the firefight and was in a critical condition.

Shortly after the crime, the police initially spoke of an estimated five-year-old child. An uninvolved man was also injured in the leg during the attack.

Background still unclear
The church in question is the Lakewood Church of Protestant celebrity preacher Joel Osteen. According to media reports, 45,000 people attend the weekly services in Lakewood. However, according to the church website, there was no service taking place at the time of the crime. According to the police, the investigation is ongoing.

The star preacher Joel Osteen(Bild: AP)

It is still too early to determine a motive for the crime, police representatives said on Monday. However, "some anti-Semitic writings" had been discovered. There were indications that the alleged perpetrator had been involved in a dispute with her ex-husband's family, some of whom were Jewish. However, the investigation is still ongoing. According to previous findings, the woman acted alone.

Shooting sprees are now part of everyday life in the US
In the USA, rampages and fatal shootings are sadly part of everyday life. Firearms are readily available there and in circulation on a massive scale. Bloody attacks with many victims regularly shake the country - for example in schools, supermarkets, nightclubs or at large events. In most cases, the perpetrators are men. Firearm attacks by women are statistically rare.

After every major attack of this kind, there are new calls for stricter gun laws, such as a ban on assault rifles, which are regularly used in rampages. However, these demands come to nothing, not least because of opposition from Republicans.