[
Bodycam footage of the Feb. 11 shooting at Lakewood Church in Houston shows a man at the scene praying while turning to face the attacker.
“We need to reach out. Oh God, just be with us, forgive us for our sins,” a woman's voice is heard saying in a snippet posted by NBC.
KHOU identified the voice as that of off-duty Houston Police Officer Garcia.
During the incident, 36-year-old Genesee Moreno entered the church with a rifle, being led by Pastor Joel Osteen. Security officers returned fire and killed Moreno.
Moreno's 7-year-old son was seriously injured in the shooting, and another church member was injured.
Authorities have not said who shot the boy in the head or a motive for the attack.
Kathryn Schweit, who created the FBI's active shooter program, said the responding officers did their job.
“It was interesting to hear the officer praying for God to guide him, knowing that he needed to get closer as quickly as he needed to move forward. The scary part, she said, according to KHOU, “is the reality you see in that footage, she doesn't know what she's going to have to face.”
Video of the incident released shows Moreno walking into the lobby with a rifle and parishioners running after shots were fired.
At one point in the video, a man responded by saying that Moreno had “pressed” him.
The video shows Moreno as she stands near her injured child and yelling, “Stand up, I have a bomb.”
NBC reported that after the child was shot, Garcia knelt near the boy and prayed, “Oh God, please bring him closer to you.”
The full video released by Houston Police is on YouTube and is shown below. Viewers should be aware that the video contains graphic violence.
Retired Houston Police Detective Mark Stevens mentioned off-duty officers had to answer the surprising, in keeping with KTRK-TV.
“I imply she simply reveals up. There isn’t any time besides to take speedy motion,” he mentioned.
He mentioned the officers had been overpowered as a result of that they had handguns and Moreno had a rifle.
“It’s a far cry from firing a rifle. I imply, they will choose you up from a good distance away. These officers needed to get very shut, so their pictures had been exact, Stevens mentioned.
This text initially appeared on The Western Journal.