Police in Houston, Texas, said Sunday that they were responding to a possible shooting at a megachurch run by prominent evangelical Christian pastor Joel Osteen.

In a post on Twitter/X, Osteen’s Lakewood church said there was “an active situation involving shots fired” at the house of worship which seats nearly 17,000 congregants.

“That is all the information we have at this time,” the church said. “Please pray for Lakewood and our community.”

Jodi Silva, a Houston police spokesperson, said officers were responding to the church. But she did not have any additional information.

At 2.10pm, local sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the department had received reports of possible shots fired at or around the church, one of the largest Christian megachurches in the US.

Deputies from the Harris county sheriff’s office who work extra security detail at the church were on-scene, Gonzalez said.

About 15 minutes later, Gonzalez posted an update saying it is believed that a possible shooter was down after being shot by one of his office’s deputies at the scene.

Witnesses told reporters that they heard multiple shots fired as the church’s 2pm Spanish language service was set to begin.

One witness said to Houston’s ABC 13 news station that she heard several shots being fired while in the choir room.

“The whole church started praying and declaring Jesus’s name,” the witness said. “I was like: ‘This might be the last time I get to pray, that I get to glorify the name of Jesus, so I’m going to do this.’”

What appeared to be a video broadcast of the service circulated widely on social media, capturing sounds of gunfire and the program host’s stunned reaction.

Authorities are expected to release more information at a news conference later Sunday. But ahead of that briefing, Texas’s governor, Greg Abbott, issued a statement saying: “Our hearts are with those [affected] by today’s tragic shooting and the entire Lakewood Church community in Houston.”

“Places of worship are sacred,” the statement said.

Osteen’s Lakewood church resides in a complex that used to host games for the Houston Rockets pro basketball team. The building was previously known as the Summit and then the Compaq Center.

A total of about 45,000 people attend Lakewood’s various services each week.

The Associated Press contributed reporting