Bodycam footage released of the February 11 shooting at Lakewood Church in Houston revealed that one of the people who responded to the scene prayed as he waited to confront the shooter.
“We need to draw near. Father Lord, be with us and forgive us our sins,” a female voice is heard saying in an excerpt published by NBC.
KHOU identified the audio as that of off-duty Houston Police Officer Garcia.
During the incident, Genesee Moreno, 36, entered the church led by Pastor Joel Osteen, with a rifle. Security officers returned fire, killing Moreno.
Moreno's 7-year-old son was seriously injured in the shooting, and another church member was injured.
Officials did not say who shot the child in the head or reveal the motive behind the attack.
Kathryn Schuette, who created the FBI's active shooter program, said responding officers did their jobs.
“It was interesting to listen to the officer ask God to guide them, knowing that she needed to get closer as quickly as possible. “The scary part is the reality she sees in that footage, she doesn't know what she's going to face,” she said.
A video of the incident that was released showed Moreno carrying a rifle as he walked down the hallway and parishioners running after a shot was fired.
At one point in the video, one of the men said Moreno was “pinned.”
The video shows Moreno standing over her wounded child and calling out, “Step down, I have a bomb.”
After shooting the child, Garcia knelt next to the boy and prayed, “Father, please hold him close to you,” NBC reported.
The full video released by Houston Police is on YouTube and appears below. Viewers should be aware that the video contains graphic violence.
Mark Stevens, a retired Houston police detective, said off-duty officers had to respond to the unexpected, according to KTRK-TV.
“I mean it just showed up. There is no time but to take immediate action,” he added.
He said the officers were outgunned because they had handguns and Moreno had a rifle.
“Shooting a gun is a long shot. I mean they can pick you off from a distance. These officers had to get close enough, so their shots were accurate,” Stevens said.
This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.
