New video shows Dakotah Earley talking, eating after Chicago armed robbery nearly killed him
CHICAGO - The mother of a 23-year-old man who was shot during a robbery in Lincoln Park last month and nearly died shared a fantastic update Wednesday night on her son’s condition.
Joy Dobbs, who is the mother of Dakotah Earley, tweeted a video showing her son eating and talking.
"Say hi Dakotah," Dobbs said in the video.
"Hey," Earley responded.
"How are you?" Dobbs asked.
"I’m alright," Earley responded.
In the early morning hours of May 6, Earley was on a walk around the neighborhood when he was held up at gunpoint. There was a struggle and he was shot – three times – twice in the back and once in the neck.
Earley moved to Chicago just six months prior after finishing culinary arts school in Maryland. He lives in Lincoln Park with roommates.
Dobbs said her son often has trouble sleeping and when he does, he sometimes takes a walk around the block or goes to a local convenience store. She believes that's why he was out at 3 a.m. — a walk that's now forever changed their lives.
Video captures Lincoln Park shooting that critically wounded 23-year-old man
Surveillance video obtained by FOX 32 News shows a white sedan driving east on Webster and turning onto Wayne Avenue before coming to a stop. A person in a light-colored hoodie gets out and moves to the corner of a building at the intersection where he peeks around the corner down the sidewalk.
"It has broken my heart to see my baby like this and what they did to him," said Dobbs. "People have been so generous and just total strangers praying for him. I read one of the messages on the GoFundMe and she said that, ‘Dakotah, all of Chicago is pulling for you,’ and that really touched me."
Earley previously worked for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, where a spokesperson described him as "strong and determined."
"Dakotah is a strong and determined young man who recently worked at the Food Depository, preparing healthy meals for people at risk of hunger," said Megan Bennett.
Earley's mom said she is originally from Chicago, but left in 1998 because of the gun violence. She now lives in Georgia.
Dobbs had expressed concern over her son living in Chicago, and worried it was not safe. Days before the shooting, she said she warned her son to be alert.
"My feeling is how dare they… how dare they try to take my son from me," said Dobbs.
Tyshon Brownlee, 19, of Oak Park, was charged in the attempted murder of Earley. Police say Brownlee is part of a crew that could be responsible for more than 20 armed robberies on the city’s North Side.