Sam Houston Pitcher Survived School Shooting: ‘God Spared Me’

Published: May 21, 2024

Sam Houston pitcher Rome Shubert survived school shooting: ‘God spared me’

By a Movieguide® contributor

Sam Houston pitcher Rome Shubert praises God for sparing his life after he was shot in a 2018 school shooting.

On May 18, 2018, Shubert, then a sophomore at Santa Fe High School in Texas, was about to attend his first period class when he heard gunshots.

Immediately, he began to overturn tables to protect himself and his other classmates. When he knew it was safe to escape, he and other students ran out the back and over a wall.

When Shubert got out, the adrenaline wore off and he realized he had been shot.

“From my shoulders down to my stomach, it was red,” Shubert said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle.

Shubert suffered a gunshot wound to the back of his head that exited through the side of his neck. It was a miracle that none of his main arteries or spinal cord were affected.

“When this was happening, I was praying, ‘Please, please, please get me out of there,'” he said. “When I was in the ambulance, I just said, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.'”

That day, Shubert shared a status on his X page: “I am so grateful and blessed that God spared my life today. Today I was shot in the back of the head, but I’m completely fine and stable.

After the shooting, Shubert told CBS News, “I just think I’m one of the lucky ones and I’m glad God spared me.” But I just feel bad that they didn’t succeed. They had no reason to be shot or anything. They didn’t deserve this.

Since that day six years ago, Shubert has had to do a lot of physical healing but even more emotional healing.

“It’s hard, but we have to stay the course,” he explained. “You need to find people you can lean on at all times, because if you try to handle everything on your own, you will fail miserably.

“I tried to do it myself for a little while, just shut it up and put it away, but you have to talk about it and you have to keep moving forward,” Shubert continued. “If you stay stuck in this moment, everything will come crashing down on you so fast and hard that you won’t be able to handle it.”

As a pitcher for the Sam Houston baseball team, Shubert always honors those who died in the tragedy.

“Before every ride, he always remembers to look at his “Santa Fe Strong” tattoo and remember those who lost their lives. As the years pass, May 18 remains a very difficult and emotional day for Shubert, his family and the Santa Fe community,” Sports Spectrum wrote.

“Shubert transferred to Sam Houston State ahead of the 2023 season, pursuing a degree in construction management and going 2-2 in two seasons in 37 appearances as a reliever,” the outlet added.

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