Sunday’s tragic shooting that left a 7-year-old boy fighting for his life in the hospital and injured a man in his 50s was the latest in a string of events at Lakewood Church in recent years that made national and local headlines.
Here is a look at others in recent years.
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July 16, 2005
On this day, Lakewood Church officially relocated to the former Compaq Center, which was home to the Houston Rockets before that franchise moved into the Toyota Center in 2003.
The church renovated the campus for $100 million and had to pay $11.8 in rent in advance for the first 30 years of the lease.
March 31, 2010
Lakewood Church became the official owner of the former Compaq Center after the Houston City Council by a vote of 13-2 sold the property to the church. The price tag was $7.5 million. Last month, church pastor Joel Osteen said the church paid off the $100 million loan used to renovate the church.
March 10, 2014
Burglars stole $600,000 from the church, taking a reported $200,000 in cash and $400,000 from the church’s safe.
Aug. 2017
The church initially came under fire from many on social media because it didn’t immediately open its doors to victims following an extensive flood in the city caused by Hurricane Harvey.
But there were reasons why the church didn’t initially open, namely because the building was flooded itself. There also immediately wasn’t enough staff in place to handle evacuees, and Osteen said the church didn’t hear from the city that help was needed.
Days after the flood, the church eventually opened its doors after the city said more help was needed with other shelters full, the flooding inside the church receded and more volunteers were rounded up.
Dec 3. 2021
The church was the focal point of a national news story after a plumber found 500 envelopes full of cash and checks in a wall behind a loose toilet as repair work was being done. The discovery was linked to the burglary more than seven years earlier. The plumber, Justin Cauley, was eventually given a $20,000 reward.
The shooter who entered the church and opened fire on Sunday, 36-year-old Genesse Moreno, was killed after being confronted by two off-duty police officers who were working security at the church. The 7-year-old boy still hospitalized is Moreno’s son, according to police.