The 23-year-old critically injured when a robber shot him three times in Lincoln Park last Friday, Dakotah Earley, has lost part of his leg, his family said Saturday.
Doctors at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center have been concerned about circulation to Earley’s leg and foot since last weekend, according to the family’s frequent updates on GoFundMe. Doctors postponed plans to amputate the leg earlier this week after it showed some signs of improvement.
“However, we have some unfortunate news,” the family wrote Saturday. “Dakotah had to get his lower left leg amputated due to the dead tissue and muscle. He remains in good spirits.”
But, the family said, surgeons on Friday successfully removed a bullet that was lodged in his jaw. The procedure “went well yesterday and it will be wired shut for a little while until it heals up.
On Friday, the family said Dakotah was showing steady signs of improvement and doctors even removed him from life support.
Before his jaw surgery, Dakotah had “been chatting a little bit and told [his brother] Dashawn … that he missed him. Sometimes when he speaks it isn’t clear due to his jaw but we are so happy that he can and will speak again,” the family said.
“Thank you all for your continued support as we navigate this new normal for us.”
As of Saturday evening, the GoFundMe campaign raised just over $103,000.
Chicago police continue to build a case good enough to bring charges against the man who shot Dakotah and the rest of the robbery crew, which is believed to be responsible for over a dozen hold-ups on the North Side since last week.
Previous coverage
- Man, 23, critically wounded in Lincoln Park shooting (May 6, 2022)
- Video: Armed robber shoots man 3x in Lincoln Park after demanding phone password (May 6, 2022)
- 2 nights of armed robberies across Lakeview and Lincoln Park ends with victim critically injured by gunman (May 6, 2022)
- ‘This lawlessness has to be stopped!’ Alderman demands action after a man is shot, gravely wounded during North Side robbery spree (May 6, 2022)
- Lincoln Park shooting, robbery victim is identified in GoFundMe campaign (May 6, 2022)
- Robbers who shot a man in Lincoln Park also fired shots at another victim Wednesday, CPD report says (May 7, 2022)
- Lincoln Park shooting victim is on life support, family says: ‘We ARE NOT and WILL NOT lose hope or faith for Dakotah’ (May 7, 2022)
- 2 more men robbed at gunpoint in Lincoln Park overnight (May 9, 2022)
- Another armed robbery reported in Lincoln Park, Lakeview area this morning. Witness says a gunman threatened to shoot them if they helped the victim (May 9, 2022)
- Armed crews rob 4 more people in Lakeview overnight as violent hold-up pattern grows (May 10, 2022)
- 3 more armed robberies reported on North Side as cops explore a possible link to a shooting near “The Bean” (May 11, 2022)
- Cops find ‘definitive’ link between Dakotah Earley case and a shooting near The Bean: sources (May 12, 2022)
- At least 6 more people robbed at gunpoint overnight as North Side armed robbery surge rolls on (May 14, 2022)