Video: Bullet found in a diaper

NBC News Channel
Published: January 5, 2009

7-month-old Mi-Asia Anderson was all smiles on New Year’s Day, but her screams filled the sanctuary of Greater Faith Tabernacle in Memphis, Tennessee during midnight service the previous night.

“I picked her up and tried to give her ‘binky’, ‘cause ‘binky’ normally calm her down,“ said her mother Jewell Anderson. “But ‘binky’ didn’t work.“

Anderson says she carried her crying daughter to the bathroom, where she discovered a different kind of surprise in the baby’s diaper. “The bullet fell out.“

A stray bullet that lodged itself in the child’s diaper may have been fired from a reveler’s gun outside in the surrounding neighborhood.

The church’s metal roof and ceiling surely slowed the speed of the the bullet.

“When I saw that bullet, all I could do was just scream,“ said Anderson.

Memphis Police say they’ve found stray bullets in unusual places before - reminders of how dangerous carelessly firing weapons can be.

The bullet left a hole in the sanctuary ceiling, and numerous church-goers said they’d seen something falling from above.

“It was like white stuff falling…I guess from the hole,“ Anderson said.

Pastor Orlester Johnson’s explanation for the fact that Mi-Asia escaped without injury is simple: “She is blessed.“

Johnson said the theme of his New Year’s Eve sermon was “It still works”, and he says little Mi-Asia is proof. “Praise still works, prayer still works, faith still works.“

Mi-Asia’s mother says she’ll save the bullet as a keepsake for her daughter, a reminder of what she considers a miracle.

“I’m gonna keep the bullet, and when she gets older, put a chain on it.“

Anderson says she has no plans to change her brand of diaper.