Photos show Lincoln Park shooting victim sitting up in hospital bed

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team and Stephanie Wade WLS logo
Monday, May 30, 2022
Lincoln Park shooting victim continues to recover in hospital
Dakotah Earley, 23, continues to recover in the hospital after he was shot three times during an armed robbery in Lincoln Park earlier this month.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The victim in the Lincoln Park robbery and shooting that was caught on video earlier this month is now sitting up in the hospital as he continues to recover.

Dakotah Earley's family shared pictures of him in his hospital bed after doctors had to amputate part of his leg.

The 23-year-old was robbed and shot multiple times on May 6th at the corner of Webster and Wayne.

WATCH | Man struggles with suspect before Lincoln Park shooting

GRAPHIC WARNING: A man was critically wounded in a Lincoln Park shooting early Friday.

Last week, Earley's mother had the chance to thank the good Samaritan who came to her son's aid in the middle of the night.

"I'm just glad that he was there because I couldn't be. At that time, my family couldn't have been there for Dakotah, and I'm just glad that somebody took the courage to come out of their house and to be with him and keep him holding on," Joy Dobbs said.

The mother of a 23-year-old gunned down during a Lincoln Park robbery got to thank the man who came to her son's aid Monday.

David Hussar heard the shooting at 3 a.m. on May 6.

"I said, 'hey man, I'm here to help; hold on, police are coming, ambulance is coming.' Tried to talk to him and support him and say help is on the way and not to give up," Hussar said.

It was those quick actions that Joy Dobbs said might have saved her son's life.

"There's no words to thank him enough. He will always have my gratitude, always," Dobbs said.

Earley has been fighting for his life in the hospital after being shot three times while walking down the sidewalk near Wayne and Webster avenues after an armed robber approached him at gunpoint.

RELATED: Lincoln Park residents meet with Chicago police over rising crime on North Side

"To have it to degrade to this level where innocent people literally minding their own business are risking their life by walking down the streets of Lincoln Park, there's just no words," Ald. Brian Hopkins said.

The shooting was all captured on surveillance video.

"I suffer from PTSD, so watching my son on video get gunned down has taken me to places that I thought I was actually over," Dobbs said.

A 19-year-old man has since been charged for the shooting and several other armed robberies on the North Side.

RELATED: Man, 19, charged in Lincoln Park shooting, robbery that left man fighting for life

Alderman Hopkins and the mother of the man shot in a Lincoln Park robbery gave an update Monday morning.

"That man should've been in jail. Instead he was in front of my house shooting someone. So I think we all need to come together and we need change in the city," Hussar said.

Earley's mother said he's improving every day. It was his birthday last week, and she said she's just glad they can celebrate another birthday with her son.

"This violence against humans, against people who are just like you, just has to stop," Dobbs said.

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