Street preacher mysteriously shot in the brain reflects on 'miracle' recovery: 'I should be dead'
A preacher who was shot in the head last November is nearing a return to his ministry after doctors previously believed he would not be able to survive the mysterious gunshot wound.
Hans Schmidt, the 26-year-old outreach director of Victory Chapel First Phoenix in Arizona, discussed the progress he made since being shot on the corner of 51st Avenue and Peoria Avenue while preaching before a Wednesday night service in an interview with Phoenix ABC15.
"It's a miracle, absolutely a miracle," the father of two said, referring to his progress. "I should not be alive. Realistically, I should be dead, and because [of] His grace and His love, I'm still here."
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On the evening of Nov. 15, Schmidt said he remembers falling to his knee while on the corner preaching. He didn't realize he was shot at first but concluded that "something's not right." He ended his street preaching earlier than usual, deciding to drive his car back to the church at nearby Victory Chapel First Phoenix.
Schmidt arrived at the church service but found himself unable to speak, which prompted his wife and brother-in-law to take him to the hospital.
"He comes to the car and I remember just seeing like blood and asking, 'What happened?" His wife, Zulya, said.
"In my head, I was saying I'm not OK, but I wasn't speaking. There were no words coming out," Schmidt added.
On the way, he began suffering from seizures, and by the time he arrived, he was unresponsive. They didn't realize that Schmidt had been shot until after a CT scan revealed the bullet in his head.
Both law enforcement and medical professionals told Schmidt's wife that his chance of survival were not good, with a doctor telling his wife that there was nothing they could do and a police officer telling her more would be learned "after the autopsy."
Zulya Schmidt said the doctors would do tests on her husband to see if he was responsive and he wasn't responding. Schmidt was placed in a medically induced coma and woke up a month later.
Upon waking up, Schmidt told his wife, "It's fine," marking the first time he had spoken since he was wounded. In January, two months after the shooting, Schmidt returned home for the first time.
Schmidt detailed how the bullet passed straight through his brain, and lead fragments are still in his head, as doctors believe removal is too dangerous. While the street preacher has largely recovered from the shooting, getting his life back to normal remains an ongoing process.
He still attends speech and occupational therapy daily and had to relearn how to walk.
Meanwhile, the man who shot Schmidt remains at large nearly a year later. The street preacher said he had forgiven him.
"I don't think that holding a grudge against him is going to change anything," Schmidt said. "I think it's important to forgive people. ... I forgive him."
"Every day is a blessing because I'm still here," he continued.
Zulya Schmidt, who said she was repeatedly "pleading with God" through the ordeal, agreed.
"I'm so grateful," she said. She recalled how she prayed, "God, if you can raise dry bones, then why not him?"
"There's so many like people that are miracles, and I'm like, why not him?" she asked.
ABC15 reports Schmidt is "eager to get back to work," noting how "doctors say he should be able to return to a somewhat normal life."
A GoFundMe page set up to cover Schmidt's medical expenses has raised over $93,000.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
