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Food Network’s Tobias Dorzon Breaks Silence After Being Shot 11 Times During Robbery
Food Network star Tobias Dorzon has broken his silence after he was shot 11 times during a robbery outside of his home.
On the night of November 5, 2024, Dorzon, 40, and his girlfriend, Crystal Swan, took an Uber back to his place after they went out to dinner. As the Uber pulled up to his home in Hyattsville, Maryland, he got out of the car and opened the door for Swan when he noticed men get out of a nearby vehicle with guns.
“I was trying to cover her and then I started getting hit,” Dorzon recalled to People in an interview published on Tuesday, November 4. “I went to the ground and tried to drag myself toward the curb, but I couldn’t hear my girl.”
After explaining that everything around him went completely quiet, he admitted he wondered if he would survive the shooting.
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“You got that last second of almost thinking, are you still going to be here? People walking towards you that just shot you multiple times, what are they coming for?” he said. “Are they coming to kill you? Are they coming to rob you? You really don’t know the end result. I’m just hoping my kids are good.”
“At that point, I’m thinking they’re going to pretty much finish me off,” he said.
The group robbed Dorzon’s Audemars Piguet watch and his diamond necklace, along with other items. Authorities said the stolen items were worth about $100,000 and five suspects later fled the scene in a stolen car, according to charging documents cited by WJLA.
Dorzon managed to FaceTime his brother as he remained on the front lawn, explaining to him what had happened. A neighbor called 911, though Dorzon said he didn’t remember much after that.
Devin Demetrius Spivey has since been identified as one of the suspects, and he is facing 18 charges including attempted first and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, armed robbery and stalking. Spivey, 21, has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney, Brendan Callahan, confirmed to People that his trial is scheduled to begin on December 5.
Dorzon later woke up in the hospital, where he was told he would likely never walk again after he lost all feeling below his left knee. Meanwhile, Swan also survived the shooting and stood by Dorzon’s side during his road to recovery.
“I really didn’t know what to take from everything,” he said. “For somebody that just never really been in trouble, I thought coming back home to build something in my hometown, being a hometown hero, something like that could never happen to me.”
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Dorzon spent two months in the hospital and underwent multiple surgeries. He still goes to physical therapy three days a week to regain his strength, though he said he still has no feeling in one finger after reconstruction.
“I’m just super grateful to be here, to be in the moment, and to still be able to cook and give people an experience,” he told the outlet. “That has always been my biggest focus and my dream, to create a memorable food experience for others.”
Dorzon first entered the spotlight while playing for the NFL teams the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans. Following his retirement, he has appeared on the Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games and Tournament of Champions. He will next appear on the premiere of Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas on Wednesday, November 5.
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