A Rhode Island teenager whose survival as a newborn was officially recognized by Pope Leo XIV as a miracle has been arrested in connection with a double shooting, according to LifeSiteNews and local law enforcement reports.
Tyquan Johnson, 19, was taken into custody Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Service’s Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force in Newport News, Virginia. According to LifeSiteNews, authorities were acting on an arrest warrant issued by Newport, Rhode Island, Police charging Johnson with felony assault with a firearm and firing a weapon in a compact area. Police are also searching for another unidentified suspect in connection with the same incident.
The shooting reportedly occurred earlier this month and left two men, ages 22 and 25, with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. According to reports cited by LifeSiteNews, both victims are expected to make a full recovery.
Johnson became known to Catholics around the world in June 2025 when Pope Leo XIV approved a decree from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints recognizing his extraordinary recovery at birth as a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Salvador Valera Parra, a 19th-century Spanish priest.
According to the Vatican decree, Johnson was delivered by emergency cesarean section in 2007 after complications during pregnancy. He was born without a detectable heartbeat or breathing, and after approximately an hour without improvement, the attending physician prayed for the intercession of Salvador Valera Parra.
The decree states that Johnson’s heartbeat resumed “without any external intervention.” Although doctors later diagnosed him with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and believed he would likely suffer severe developmental disabilities, he ultimately recovered and went on to live what the Vatican described as a normal life.
Following the Vatican’s recognition of the miracle last year, Johnson reflected on the significance of his survival in comments to local media.
“The promulgation of the miracle changed my faith a lot because I’m destined to be in this world,” he said, according to LifeSiteNews.
Johnson added, “If God didn’t want me in this world, he would just let me die on that table. But he wanted to give me a second chance.”
Authorities have not announced any convictions or entered findings of guilt regarding the recent charges, and the case is expected to proceed through the legal process. For Catholics, the arrest serves as a reminder that miraculous graces and extraordinary blessings do not override human freedom, and that every person remains called to cooperate with God’s grace throughout life.
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