NEWPORT, R.I. — A 19-year-old Rhode Island man charged in connection with a Newport shooting is the same person whose extraordinary recovery as a baby was recognized by the Vatican as a miracle in 2025.
According to Newport police, Johnson is charged with felony assault with a firearm and discharging a firearm in a compact area. Two people suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police have also said they are seeking another individual for questioning in connection with the investigation.
Johnson was born prematurely in 2007 at the former Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island in Pawtucket. After reportedly going more than an hour without a detectable heartbeat, doctors feared he would not survive. Following prayers to Blessed Salvador Valera Parra, Johnson recovered without the permanent brain damage doctors had expected.
In 2025, Pope Leo XIV officially recognized the case as a miracle, making it the first Vatican-recognized miracle connected to Rhode Island and advancing the beatification cause of Blessed Salvador Valera Parra.
Johnson previously said the recognition strengthened his faith and that he believed he had been given “a second chance.”
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