Tobias Dorzon, a former NFL player turned chef and restaurateur, was one of two people shot Tuesday night during a robbery in Prince George’s County, Maryland, according to a county council member.
“Such a horrible act couldn’t have happened to a better person. I am sending my deepest sympathies to him and the second victim, as well as their families and friends, and I wish them both a speedy recovery. We have no place for this kind of senseless violence in our district or our county,” county Council member Wanika Fisher said in a statement.
Hyattsville police said the shooting happened around 10 p.m. in the 2500 block of Kirkwood Place, where Dorzon and a woman were returning home from dinner. Police Chief Jarod Towers said four suspects then got out of another vehicle that was being driven by a fifth suspect and opened fire on Dorzon and the woman, shooting off dozens of rounds.
“Both were struck multiple times by gunfire. The suspects then approached the victim and took personal effects from him, and then fled in the same vehicle, which was a white, small SUV crossover with a sunroof, and fled the area,” Towers said.
Both Dorzon and the woman survived, but both were hospitalized and seriously wounded.
Towers called the shooting a “tragic, heinous, violent offense.”
“This is not tolerated here in the city of Hyattsville. It’s not tolerated anywhere in Prince George’s County or the region.” Towers said. “We will bring closure to this case. We will not stop until we seek justice in this case, and this is a barbarous offense.”
Dorzon is a highly acclaimed chef who owns and operates two restaurants in Hyattsville — Huncho House and 1123 By Chef Tobias. He’s appeared in several food-centric reality TV shows, such as Chopped, Tournament of Champions and Guy’s Grocery Games.
“Especially just having an incident like this happen to someone like Chef Tobias, who is a community member, a leader, a very well known individual, it just shakes people’s view of safety,” Fisher told WTOP.
Earlier this year, Dorzon became the first Prince George’s County native to win Chef of the Year from the Restaurant Association of Maryland.
“He’s had such a huge impact. Tobias has been a catalyst for change. He has really taken University Town Center to the next level,” Fisher said. “We were really in this prosperous time, I would say, a revitalizing time for that side of Hyattsville, and I’m very proud of the work we’re doing together. But this incident with him in a place that he chooses not only to work, but to live and call home, is just heartbreaking.”
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