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Bizarre lightning strike in Florida hits palm tree, travels through attic, creates holes in ceiling

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SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. - There's a  hole in the living room ceiling, where 12-year old Gavin Schumacher was sitting when a lightning bolt burst right through the ceiling. 

"It was really loud. I was very scared because it shook me," he said.  

And on the other side of the house, down a couple of hallways about 30-feet away, in a child's bedroom, is a second lightning hole. 

"You can see where it exited out here. You can smell the electrical smoke in here," said homeowner Ryan Schumacher.

The lightning did not come down through the roof. There's no hole in it.

"A neighbor across the canal saw it hit the coconut palm. Must have come down the palm, exploded, shooting up the mud and water," Schumacher said.

Then it went sideways into the attic through the soffit of the home on Cinnamon Court. It appears to have traveled through the attic, making the two exit holes, but missing the people inside. 

"I knew we got hit by lightning. I didn't know how hard; I didn't know where," Gavin Schumacher said.

Remarkably, the electricity still worked. "We're very thankful that it didn't burn down our house," Gavin added.

The Satellite Beach Fire Department made sure there was no fire in the attic that could break out later on.