Miracle in the News: Awakened by a Bullet--The Florida Case Full of Questions and Miracles | Ep. 53

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Miracle Files

Episode: Ep. 53 – Miracle in the News: Awakened by a Bullet—The Florida Case Full of Questions and Miracles
Date: December 8, 2025
Hosts: Holly and Emily (surnames not provided)
Podcast Theme: Faith-centered, true stories of miracles and divine intervention amid tragedy.

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Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, the hosts recount an extraordinary, real-life case from Brandon, Florida, where a pregnant mother survives a gunshot wound, and–incredibly–her unborn baby also survives after being shot in the womb. The episode examines the circumstances of the shooting, the miraculous medical recovery, and how this event moves both law enforcement and podcast hosts to use words like “miracle” and “extraordinary.” The story is followed by a listener-inspired bonus miracle about a life saved through perfect timing and Provident intervention, underscoring the continual presence of hope and light in dark situations.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Case Unfolds: Ordinary Night, Unimaginable Incident

• [01:28] The story opens with a mother peacefully sleeping with her two children in bed, only to be abruptly shot in her sleep by her boyfriend, Eric Patterson.
  • “It starts out in the most ordinary, peaceful, innocent way with just a mother sleeping in her bed… when a shot rings out.”
    — Host, [01:28]
• [02:13] Patterson, identified as a 15-time convicted felon, allegedly fires the weapon, instigating terror and confusion.

2. Aftermath and Immediate Questions

• [03:10] Surveillance reveals Patterson rushing the wounded mother to the hospital, dropping her off, and fleeing—attempting to cover up the crime by disposing of the firearm and abandoning the car.
  • “He disposed of the firearm in a… dumpster. And then he… fled in the victim's vehicle… parked the vehicle in front of his sister's residence…”
    — Detective Garrett Hogstead, [03:17]

3. The Miraculous Element: Medical Discovery and Race Against Time

• [04:10] Medical staff discover not only the mother’s critical injury but also her advanced pregnancy—she’s eight months along. Imaging reveals the bullet penetrated both mother and baby.
  • “Not only has this woman been shot in the stomach, but she's also eight months pregnant… The bullet… traveled through the mother's abdomen and into the abdomen of her unborn baby.”
    — Host, [04:16]
• [06:14] Doctors perform an emergency caesarian section to save both lives. The newborn is immediately airlifted for surgery.

4. Survival Against All Odds: The Miracle

• [07:07] Both the mother and baby survive, and the sheriff's official statement recognizes the event as a “miracle” and “extraordinary.”
  • “What could have ended as a heartbreaking tragedy is now a miracle. Story of survival and resilience.”
    — Sheriff’s statement, read by Emily, [07:43]
  • “It is truly extraordinary that both the mother and her newborn baby survived.”
    — Sheriff Chad Chronister (paraphrased by Host), [07:56]
• [08:16] Hosts reflect on the truly improbable nature of the double survival:
  • “When a Bullet enters soft tissue, especially like a pregnant abdomen, it's unpredictable… a single wrong angle… both of them could have died instantly. But somehow that didn't happen.”
    — Host, [08:25]

5. The Human and Social Context

• [02:23] Discussion of the mother's relationship choices and dangers of partnering with repeat offenders:
  • “I don't mean this to sound insensitive, but what is she doing dating a 15-time convicted felon?”
    — Emily, [02:23]
• [09:57] Hosts encourage listeners experiencing relationship abuse to seek help and provide resources (thehotline.org).
  • “If you or someone you know is being affected by relationship abuse… please know there are resources out there.”
    — Host, [09:58]

6. Ongoing Questions and Reflections on Motive

• [05:48] & [08:51] Uncertainty remains regarding Patterson's intent—was it an accident or intentional?
  • “Did he mean to do it? Is it an accident? Like, yeah, [the daughter] said it was an accident.”
    — Emily, [08:51]
  • Hosts speculate but stress that more details will emerge during trial.

7. Empathy for the Family & Community

• [09:37 – 09:57] Call for prayer and support for the mother, newborn, and older children enduring trauma:
  • “This is a family that could really use prayer right now.”
    — Host, [09:57]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It blew my mind. I mean, this bullet went through the mother's stomach and the baby's stomach, and they both survived.”
  — Host, [07:28]
• “There are grown men who would die from a single gunshot wound. Like, how does a baby survive being shot? That is insane.”
  — Emily, [07:17]
• “Extraordinary. I don't think that's a word that law enforcement uses lightly, but it's applicable.”
  — Host, [07:56]
• “It had to have been millimeters.”
  — Emily, [08:49]

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Bonus Miracle Story: Right Place, Right Time

[10:35 – 11:59]
Hosts share a quick story submitted by a listener, echoing a previous episode:

• A man has a heart attack and crashes into a building. A doctor, Dr. Kehindu Idowu, happens to pass by and starts CPR, contributing to a chain of events that saves the man's life.
  • “For all the circumstances that played through for me to be there… for the staff… for the police officers… for the EMS… and for the doctors… God really is the one who gets the glory for that.”
    — Dr. Idowu (clip), [11:30]

Hosts reflect:

• “Miracles really are happening all the time… We just don't always hear about them.”
  — Emily, [12:11]

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:07 | Detective Hogstead testifies about evidence found at the scene | | 01:28 | Introduction and overview of the Brandon, FL miracle case | | 03:17 | Patterson flees after dropping victim at hospital | | 04:10 | Doctors discover pregnancy and bullet’s path | | 06:14 | Emergency C-section and baby airlifted for surgery | | 07:07 | Announcement of mother and baby’s survival | | 07:43 | Sheriff’s statement calls outcome a miracle | | 08:51 | Hosts question Patterson’s intent and details of the shooting | | 09:57 | Hosts urge prayer, provide abuse resources | | 10:35 | Listener-submitted miracle of heart attack survivor | | 11:30 | Dr. Idowu’s remarks about divine providence | | 12:11 | Reflection: “Miracles really are happening all the time” |

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Tone & Closing Thoughts

The hosts approach the grim events with empathy, faith, and an accessible, conversational style, often inserting humor but always returning to hope, prayer, and encouragement. The episode closes by reminding listeners to look for God’s miracles daily and to reach out if experiencing abuse, with an explicit note: “No one deserves to be abused.”

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Further Resources

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: thehotline.org
• To submit your miracle story: themiraclefiles.com

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Transcript

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[Emily]

Detective Garrett Hogstead took the stand and spoke about what they found in the apartment when they executed a search warrant.

[Detective Garrett Hogstead]

Within the master bedroom of the apartment. On the mattress was a bed sheet that was had blood on it as well as an apparent gunshot. A hole consistent with a gunshot.

[Emily]

This is Miracles in the News.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Welcome back to Miracles in the News. When I came across this story, I have to say I was stunned. Stunned. But it starts out in the most ordinary, peaceful, innocent way with just a mother sleeping in her bed.

[Emily]

That could be me. It's my favorite pastime.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Well, maybe not after you hear this story. So this mother is sleeping peacefully in her bed. She's got two of her children in the bed next to her. It's early Saturday morning in Brandon, Florida when a shot rings out. This poor sleeping mother, who has yet to be identified by the way, is awoken in the most horrific way. She's shot in her stomach, allegedly by her boyfriend, Eric Patterson.

[Commercial Announcer]

These are the latest details. Investigators say Eric Patterson, a 15 time convicted felon, fired the gun while his girlfriend slept in bed with two of her kids nearby.

[Emily]

Oh my gosh. That's horrible. But also, I don't mean this to sound insensitive, but what is she doing dating a 15 time convicted felon?

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

I know, I thought the same thing. Like it makes me so sad when women think that is the best they can do. I know, like you can do better, girl.

[Emily]

Yeah.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Anyway, super scary as well. And it gets even more chilling because a surveillance video near their home captures Patterson leaving with this poor mother. She's bleeding from her wound, holding her stomach. And the next thing that happens is that this woman shows up at the Hospital in Brandon. No ambulance, no police escort, just a car rolling up to the ER doors. And Patterson apparently rushes her inside. And then he bolts.

[Emily]

Detective hogstead says Patterson Jr. Drove the victim to Brandon Regional Hospital, dropped her off with an insurance card, and then fled.

[Detective Garrett Hogstead]

He disposed of the firearm in a. In a dumpster. And then he. And all this. He fled in the victim's vehicle, and he later parked the vehicle in front of his sister's residence in Ruskin, where we located the vehicle the next day.

[Emily]

Wait, so first he shoots her, then he takes her to the hospital and then runs?

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah, exactly. I know. Crazy, right? So, anyway, the hospital staff can immediately see this isn't like a typical injury, like a fall or something. This woman is. Is holding her abdomen and she's bleeding. So nurses get her onto a bed. They're trying to stabilize her. And as they start questioning her, checking her vitals, they realize something that stops them cold. Not only has this woman been shot in the stomach, but she's also eight months pregnant.

[Emily]

No way. Oh, my gosh.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah. Yeah. So awful.

[Emily]

Oh, my gosh. That's crazy.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah. So now the doctors are not only trying to save this mother's life, but they know there's an unborn life that also depends on the survival of the mother. So they rush her into imaging to try to locate the bullet, and that's when they see it. The bullet didn't just hit her. It traveled through the mother's abdomen and into the abdomen of her unborn baby.

[Emily]

Oh, no. Oh, my gosh. That's heartbreaking.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah. So the medical team sees this scan, and their hearts must have just dropped. I can't even imagine what they were feeling. And so now they're not just trying to save one life, they're trying to save two lives, Both critically injured before this baby has even taken its first breath. Wow.

[Emily]

Well, I'm no doctor, but I would assume the chance of saving that baby is pretty small.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah, I'm sure that that's what doctors were thinking, too. The odds had to be almost zero. And meanwhile, detectives start piecing things together. They go to the couple's apartment and they talk to the kids. And that's when the story becomes even more heartbreaking, because they interview the couple's nine year old daughter, and she tells the police what she saw and heard.

[Detective Garrett Hogstead]

Early in the morning, she was woken up by a loud bang in the room and immediately heard her mom crying. Both her mother and father, the defendant, walked into the bathroom while the mother was holding her abdomen. And the defendant kept Apologizing to her.

Saying he didn't mean to.

[Emily]

What does that mean? That she's. That this was an accident?

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Honestly, I don't know, and I don't know how it could possibly be an accident, especially while she's sleeping. It's really strange. But according to Hillsborough county officials, investigators eventually arrest Patterson. He's charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon on a pregnant female, tampering with physical evidence, child neglect, and possessing a firearm as a felon.

[Emily]

Oh, man.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

So while that's happening, inside the hospital, two trauma teams are fighting for the lives of this mother and her child. And according to court documents, the doctors decide to deliver the baby immediately. So they rush the mom into emergency surgery, and they perform a C section. This is high risk, fast. They get the baby out as quickly as they can.

[Emily]

I wonder if they were, like, worried doing a C section that she would lose a bunch of blood. But I guess. I mean, pregnant women have a lot more blood in their bodies, but were they worried about blood at that point?

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

I don't know. They may have been, but it's not like they had any other options if they wanted to try and save this baby's life, so they had to hurry up. The baby's clinging to life and is airlifted to Tampa General Hospital for surgery. Wow. And then a miracle.

[Commercial Announcer]

The sheriff's office says that baby was delivered and is now stable at Tampa General Hospital. That mother now recovering at home.

[Emily]

Wow.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Can you believe that?

[Emily]

I honestly can't wrap my mind around that because there are grown men who would die from a single gunshot wound. Like, how does a baby survive being shot? That is insane.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

It blew my mind. I mean, this bullet went through the mother's stomach and the baby's stomach, and they both survived. And the sheriff said the mother and baby are both expected to make a full recovery. He actually put out a statement, and I want you to read that, if you would, Emily.

[Emily]

Okay, sure. It says, what could have ended as a heartbreaking tragedy is now a miracle. Story of survival and resilience. I love. The sheriff used the word miracle because.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah, it is. It is a miracle. Yeah. And he didn't stop there. Sheriff Chad Chronister is his name. Said it is truly extraordinary that both the mother and her newborn baby survived. And extraordinary. I don't think that's a word that law enforcement uses lightly, but it's applicable.

[Emily]

I mean, this is extraordinary. Like the fact that this baby survived being shot. I mean, I can't even fathom.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah. And the mom as well. When a Bullet enters soft tissue. Especially like a pregnant abdomen, it's unpredictable. It has to be. Like there are vital organs everywhere, major arteries, the placenta, the uterus, you know, all of these life saving sustaining systems and a single wrong angle. And I would think both of them could have died instantly. But somehow that didn't happen.

[Emily]

It had to have been millimeters.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah.

[Emily]

But okay, I'm sitting here still wondering what happened that morning. Like, did he mean to do it?

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Oh my gosh.

[Emily]

Is it an accident? Like, yeah, said it was an accident.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

But like what happened? I don't know. I would love to know too, but we're gonna have to wait till the trial to truly understand why this man shot his pregnant girl girlfriend to begin with. But Channel 10 Tampa Bay News did find some interesting information. We did do some digging into his past. You mentioned he's a 15 time convicted felon. And just within the last five years or so we saw that he had convictions for aggravated assault and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. So we'll have to follow this story and let you all know more as it unfolds. Either way, I hope that mother and baby are surrounded by so much love right now.

[Emily]

Yeah.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

And the older kids, I hope that they get the support that they need to. They've been through so much.

[Emily]

I'm sure, I'm sure I can imagine the trauma that that must have caused.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah. And this happened really recently. And even though the mother and baby are stable, I think it would be appropriate if you believe in prayer. This is a family that could really use prayer right now.

[Emily]

Yeah, for sure.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

And I want to add, if you or someone you know is being affected by relationship abuse, please know there are resources out there. You can find valuable information@the hotline.org and I just have to say, no one deserves to be abused.

[Emily]

No. And just a little bit of advice. Probably don't date men who have are 15 time convicted felons.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah, I think that's pretty good advice. As a mother, I would definitely give that advice to my daughter.

[Emily]

14'S okay, 15 is pushing it.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

No, 14 is not okay either.

Oh man. Okay, I need to switch gears just for a moment before we wrap up because some of these miracle stories may seem just unbelievable and rare, but what amazes me is that every time we tell one of these stories, listeners reach out with similar stories that happen to someone else. So here's one more quick bonus miracle in the news to close out our episode. If you listen to our Miracle in the News episode about the man who had a heart attack and crashed into the cardiologist's office. You're not going to believe this, but something similar just happened again. Another man had a heart attack and, and crashed into a building and a doctor just happened to be driving by and witnessed the whole thing.

[Emily]

Happened to be.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yeah, happened to be. And similar to last time, Dr. Kehindu Idowu jumped out of his own vehicle and immediately started cpr, saving the man's life. So here's a quick clip from the news.

[Commercial Announcer]

While the two now share a bond that will likely last for the rest of their lives, Dr. Ndohu doesn't want any credit for simply doing the right thing. For all the circumstances that played through for me to be there, for the staff at Midas to help me bring him out, for the police officers who showed up with a defibrillator, for the EMS that was able to get him to the hospital, and for the doctors there that took care of him, I think all of it just played out to his favor. And God really is the one who gets the glory for that.

[Emily]

It's pretty amazing. It's like almost the same story, just different people. I mean, it just reminds me that miracles really are happening all the time.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

All the time.

[Emily]

We just don't always hear about them.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Yep. And I love that people are becoming more aware of all the miracles around them. So yeah. Thank you everybody for joining us today. We appreciate you so much and if you like this podcast, please subscribe, leave us a review and make sure to share with your friends.

Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle to share, contact us@the Miracle Files.com or find us on Facebook.

[Emily]

We're now releasing multiple episodes each month so subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content as well.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Join us next time as we discover more of God's miracles. And don't forget to look for his light in your own lives.

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[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

What do you think makes the perfect snack?

[Commercial Announcer]

Hmm, it's gotta be when I'm really craving it and it's convenient could you.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Be more specific when it's cravenient okay.

[Commercial Announcer]

Like a freshly baked cookie made with real butter available right down the street at a.m. p.m. Or a savory breakfast sandwich I can grab in just a second at a.m. pM.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

I'm seeing a pattern here.

[Commercial Announcer]

Well yeah, we're talking about what I.

[Host/Co-host (possibly named Emily or another female host)]

Crave which is anything from AM pm.

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What more could you want? Stop by AM PM where the snacks and drinks are perfectly craveable and convenient. That's cravenience am PM too much good stuff.