GLENDALE, Ariz. (TND) — A Christian leader is in critical condition after being shot in the head while preaching on an Arizona street.
Hans Schmidt, 26, was reportedly preaching from the Bible using a megaphone on a street corner in Glendale Wednesday night, something he had done many times before. Schmidt also works as the outreach director at Victory Chapel First Phoenix, a local church.
Paul Sanchez, a witness who works nearby, reportedly said he saw a car pass Schmidt while people inside screamed and cussed at him.
“There was a lot of everything, really, hateful comments, people yelling at him, ‘get off the street,’ all sorts of mean things,” Sanchez said.
Schmidt later sustained a gunshot wound to the head, though it is unclear if it came from someone in a car or a passerby on the street, according to AZ Family.
Victory Chapel released a statement following the tragedy asking for prayers for the preacher.
“Hans was taken to the ER where they discovered he had been shot after conducting a CT scan,” the church wrote. “He began seizing and was intubated. There has been some movement; however, physicians are uncertain how much is voluntary and began draining fluid from his brain. He remains in critical condition, please continue praying.”
Also speaking out was Schmidt's wife, Zulya Schmidt.
“My husband was shot in the head yesterday while street preaching on the corner of 51st Ave and Peoria If anyone has any info please contact 911,” she wrote on Facebook. “Thank you for your prayers. Believing God has the final say. I love you so much babe.”
Larry Dettman, a church attendee, said services at Victory Chapel Wednesday evening were interrupted by news of the incident, according to AZ Family.
“Out of nowhere, how does this happen? There’s some real evil in this world, bunch of human junk in their life and they take it out on somebody else,” Dettman reportedly said. "People are following darkness instead of light.”
Henry Branch, who lives nearby, also reportedly lamented the tragedy.
“Who knows why someone would want to take it out on a preacher like that because he’s speaking the gospel and good news to everybody,” Branch reportedly said. “He’s out to help the community.”
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