Health Update on AZ Evangelist Shot in Head While Street Preaching
An evangelist who was shot in the head while street preaching is showing small signs of recovery, according to Pastor Gary Marsh of Victory Chapel First Phoenix, who provided the congregation with an update Wednesday evening.
“It’s up and down. It’s up and down. It’s up and down. He’s not out of the woods yet, folks. He’s showing signs that he is on his way to recovery, but he’s not out of the woods yet. We just need to continue to lift him up and lift up [his wife] Zulya. That poor, dear thing. She’s just got to be beside herself.”
26-year-old Hans Schmidt, a former military combat medic, was preaching the gospel in the public square to people passing by, something he’d done countless times before, when a nearby man pulled out a gun and shot him. According to a GoFundMe released in his name, the bullet traveled through his brain and lodged on the right side of his head. As of a week ago, it was considered inoperable, and absent a miracle, severe and sustained brain damage is likely.
The suspect remains at large.
Since the shooting, folks have been rallying around Schmidt, with over a hundred people from different churches occupying the same corner he was shot at to preach and share the gospel, with the church reporting two salvations.