'I Should Not Be Alive': Man Shot in Head While Street Preaching Praises God for 'Miracle' Survival
An Arizona pastor shot in the head while street preaching last year is speaking out and thanking God for his miraculous survival.
“It’s a miracle — absolutely a miracle,” Hans Schmidt told KNXV-TV of the ordeal. “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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As CBN News previously reported, Schmidt, a 26-year-old dad of two, a military combat veteran, and the outreach director at Victory Chapel First Phoenix in Arizona, was taken to the hospital Nov. 15, 2023, on suspicion of having been assaulted.
But a CT scan revealed he had been shot in the head. Schmidt’s condition quickly deteriorated, as his family prayed for a miracle and implored others to do the same.
Schmidt’s wife, Zulya, told CBN News late last year about the events surrounding the shocking ordeal, noting the shooting unfolded while Hans was street preaching as he has frequently done.
“He’s been doing that for over a year, and, usually, he street preaches for 30 minutes before every evening service for our church,” she said. “That day, he just ended street preaching early, and I thought that was odd.”
Schmidt said Hans loaded the sound system into the car after being shot and drove to the church. She suddenly noticed he was bleeding and assumed someone had potentially thrown a bottle at him while he was speaking or injured him in another similar way.
But she would soon learn something far more sinister unfolded.
Schmidt told KNXV-TV this week details of his experience — a dangerous, near-death encounter that left him fighting for his life.
“I remember falling to my knee, and then, after that, I was like, ‘Oh, something’s not right,'” Schmidt told the outlet of the moments after the shooting. “I grabbed all my gear, put it back in the car. I drove my car back to church.”
He recalled trying to speak to Zulya, but no words were coming out. That’s when he was brought to the hospital, the bullet was discovered, and he was placed on life support and in an induced coma.
Based on the dire state of affairs, authorities and medical professionals alike assumed he would die.
Through prayer and medical intervention, though, Schmidt beat the odds; he went home just months later in January and has continued his road to recovery.
Bullet fragments are still inside his brain, as it was too risky to remove all the pieces.
As for the individual who shot Schmidt, police are still looking for suspects. But that hasn’t stopped the evangelist from doing two things: returning to the corner to preach and — forgiving.
“I don’t think that holding a grudge against him is going to change anything,” Schmidt told KNXV-TV. “I think it’s important to forgive people. And I forgive him.”
Ultimately, doctors said Schmidt, who goes to physical and speech therapy, will soon return to a relatively normal life — something for which people around the nation and world have prayed.
Prior to his healing, Zulya told CBN News how she and her family were fervently asking the Lord to perform a miracle. It was a hope to which she bravely held even in the most uncertain moments.
“We’re hopeful, and we’re praying, and we’re contending for a supernatural recovery,” she said at the time. “But there’s just so much unknown still, so much uncertainty.”
She emphasized, though, that there was hope — and that hope paid off.
Police continue to look for the person responsible for the shooting. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Schmidt family deal with the massive expenses they’ve incurred.
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