Nearly a year after surviving a near-fatal robbery, Food Network star Tobias Dorzon is opening up about the night that changed everything.
The former pro football player, 40, was attacked and shot 11 times outside his home in Hyattsville, Maryland — a random act of violence that left both him and his girlfriend hospitalized.
Dorzon told People that the evening started with dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. After a 30-minute Uber ride home, the couple pulled up to his house — unaware they were being followed.
A car stopped behind their Uber, and when Dorzon got out to open the door for his girlfriend, several armed men jumped out and opened fire.
Ironically, it was the one night he’d gone out without his security team.
‘I was trying to cover her and then I started getting hit,’ Dorzon said. ‘I went to the ground and tried to drag myself toward the curb, but I couldn’t hear my girl.’
Nearly a year after surviving a near-fatal robbery, Food Network star Tobias Dorzon is opening up about the night that changed everything; (pictured 2022)
The former pro football player, 40, was attacked and shot 11 times outside his home in Hyattsville, Maryland — a random act of violence that left both him and his girlfriend hospitalized
‘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? 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,’ he continued.
Dorzon said the attackers made off with roughly $100,000 in valuables, including an Audemars Piguet watch and a diamond necklace.
‘At that point, I’m thinking they’re going to pretty much finish me off,’ he said.
Despite seeing his hands covered in blood, he didn’t realize how many times he’d been shot.
Somehow, he managed to FaceTime his brother from where he was lying on the curb, propping his phone up to tell him what had happened.
His girlfriend, Crystal Swan, had also been hit and collapsed on the front lawn.
A neighbor called 911 as the suspects fled in a stolen car, according to police.
When Dorzon woke up in the hospital, doctors told him he might never walk again after losing all feeling below his left knee.
‘I was trying to cover her and then I started getting hit,’ Dorzon said, adding, I went to the ground and tried to drag myself toward the curb, but I couldn’t hear my girl’
‘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? 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,’ he continued
Swan, 39, survived and stayed by his side.
‘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.’
‘I ask myself every day, “Was I wrong for going out that night? Should I have not went out that night?” It’s just so many different things that I ask myself, but I’m here. I tell myself every day God got a bigger purpose for me.’
In the months since the attack, Dorzon has devoted himself to recovery — spending nearly a year in rehab after doctors warned he might never walk again.
In July, he took to Instagram to reflect on the journey and share an emotional update with fans.
‘I don’t have much to say. Because how do you put words to something like this?’ he wrote.
‘There’s no training for getting shot. No script for learning how to live with it. I’m still figuring out how to feel. Still learning how to breathe in this new version of my life.
The duo had reportedly stepped out of a black Cadillac Escalade when four suspects came from a white car and attacked them
Dramatic footage captured the moment a gunman opened fire on Dorzon
Dorzon is seen lying on the ground surrounded by his attackers
‘But I do know this — God had His hand on me that night. He covered me. He covered us. And I thank Him every single day for keeping me here.’
Now, Dorzon says he’s channeling that gratitude into his passion for food.
‘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 People.
‘That has always been my biggest focus and my dream, to create a memorable food experience for others.’
Fans will soon see Dorzon back on television when Food Network’s Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas premieres Wednesday, Nov. 5.
