The suspect in a double shooting that occurred this month in Rhode Island (United States) is apparently the same man whose unexpected recovery after a health crisis as a newborn was considered a miracle by the Vatican in 2025. Newport Police in Rhode Island reported in a July 24 press release that Tyquan Johnson faced an arrest warrant for aggravated assault with a firearm in connection with a double shooting that occurred in Newport on July 19.
The police notice, which indicated that Johnson was considered “armed and dangerous,” noted that the suspect was born on January 14, 2007. That date coincides with the birth of “Tyquan,” a native of Rhode Island, mentioned by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints on its information page about Blessed Salvador Valera Parra. Valera was a Spanish priest born in the 19th century who carried out “numerous works of a spiritual and social nature,” particularly during cholera epidemics and earthquakes, according to the dicastery.
The miracle recognized by the Vatican
In studying his beatification, the dicastery noted that it examined the Rhode Island case, in which a pregnant woman was hospitalized after her amniotic sac ruptured. Eventually, the baby was born by cesarean section, after which doctors “did not perceive any heartbeat.” At that moment, the attending physician “invoked Salvador Valera Parra,” the dicastery indicated, after which the baby regained a heartbeat without any external assistance and fully recovered.
Pope Leo XIV approved the promulgation of the miracle by the dicastery on June 20, 2025. In a statement on July 18, 2025, the chancellor of the Diocese of Providence, Fr. Timothy Reilly, stated that the miracle was “a reminder of the power of prayer and the intercession of holy men and women.” “God is truly close to us. It fills us with joy that this recognition allows the cause of beatification and canonization of the venerable servant of God Salvador Valera Parra to advance,” the priest said then.
Reilly did not respond to requests for comment on the criminal incident that occurred this month. Rhode Island police reported that another person was being sought in connection with the shooting, although they did not identify that suspect in their press release.
The suspect’s faith
In the years following the miraculous birth, the Johnson family moved to Hampton, Virginia. Later, Tyquan Johnson told local media that the promulgation of the miracle “changed my faith a lot because I am destined to be in this world.” “If God had not wanted me in this world, he would have simply let me die on that table. But he wanted to give me a second chance,” he said.
Original source: www.aciprensa.com (published on July 28, 2026)
