Nine suspects have been detained in connection to Sunday’s ambush shooting of Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz in his native Dominican Republic, authorities said.
In a statement released Thursday by the Red Sox, David Ortiz’s wife said he continued to recover in the intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he’s expected to remain hospitalized for several days.
Here are the latest updates:
Update 9:55 a.m. EDT June 14: Authorities in the Dominican Republic arrested three more suspects Thursday night suspected of playing roles in Oritz's shooting, according to multiple reports.
The country's National Prosecutor's Office identified the suspects as Lanny Estefanny Perez Reyes, José Eduardo "Chuki" Ciprián and Carlos Rafael "Carlos Nike" Álvarez, ABC News reported.
Authorities continued searching Friday for at least one suspect in the case, identified as Luis "The Surgeon" Rivas-Clase, The Reading Eagle reported.
Update: 5:06 a.m. EDT June 14: According to The Associated Press, prosecutors said they believe two suspects in the shooting of retired Red Sox slugger David Ortiz are wanted for crimes in the United States. Meanwhile, the father of another suspect said his son belongs to a Dominican gang of hitmen.
New Jersey prosecutors said a bench warrant on armed robbery and gun charges was issued for the man authorities in the Dominican Republic said pulled the trigger, according to the AP. In addition, a Pennsylvania prosecutor said he believes another suspect is wanted for attempted homicide in the state.
Update 1:45 p.m. EDT June 13: David Ortiz's wife, Tiffany Ortiz, thanked surgeons, medics and staff at the Dominican Republic's Abel Gonzalez Clinic on Thursday and said her husband continued to recover in Boston.
“David remains in guarded condition in the surgical intensive care unit following his second surgery,” Tiffany Ortiz said in the statement, released by the Boston Red Sox. “He continues to heal and make progress.”
Tiffany Ortiz also thanked Eliezer Salvador, the man who drove Ortiz to the hospital after Sunday night's shooting in his native Dominican Republic, "for his quick thinking and swift action."
Officials in the Dominican Republic said they have detained six people in connection to Sunday’s shooting. Authorities continue to investigate.
Update 9:40 a.m. EDT June 13: Authorities continued searching for four other suspects Thursday connected to Sunday's shooting, NPR reported.
Witnesses said the crime was carried out by two men on a motorcycle and two other groups of people in cars. On Wednesday, authorities announced six people had been detained as part of the investigation, including the alleged gunman.
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The suspects were allegedly paid 400,000 Dominican pesos (about $7,800) to kill Ortiz, Police Maj. Gen Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte said, according to NPR.
Authorities continue to investigate.
Update 11:30 p.m. EDT June 12: The chief prosecutor Jean Alain Rodríguez said that no one involved in the shooting of will remain in impunity, not even in the intellectual author of the crime.
He also said Wednesday the suspects "are being interrogated and we will continue deepening the investigation to get to the truth about what happened."
Update 5 p.m. EDT June 12: Police Maj. Gen. Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte said the coordinator of the shooting of David Ortiz was offered 400,000 Dominican pesos, or about $7,800, to carry out the crime.
The director of the Dominican Republic’s National Police has declined to provide a motive for the shooting of former Red Sox star. But Bautista said in a press conference Wednesday that the alleged coordinator is one of the suspects detained.
Update 4:30 p.m. EDT June 12: The chief prosecutor in the Dominican Republic said five people, including the alleged gunman, have been detained in the shooting of David Ortiz.
Authorities said a fifth suspect is being pursued in the shooting, which witnesses said was carried out by two men on a motorcycle and two other groups of people in cars.
According to The Associated Press, the chief prosecutor Jean Alain Rodríguez Sánchez spoke at a news conference on Wednesday. Authorities gave the name of the alleged shooter as Rolfy Ferrery, aka Sandy.
Prosecutors have said the two men were seen on security camera footage talking with other people in the Accent and in a Hyundai in a nearby street before the shooting Sunday night.
Update 12:50 p.m. EDT June 12: Tiffany Ortiz said Wednesday in a statement released by the Red Sox that her husband continued to recover in the intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“Yesterday and this morning, David was able to sit up as well as take some small steps,” Tiffany Oritz said. “His condition is guarded and he will remain in the ICU for the coming days, but he is making good progress towards recovery.”
Julieta Tejeda, a spokeswoman for the national prosecutor’s office in the Dominican Republic, told reporters Tuesday night that a second person had been arrested in connection to Sunday’s shooting. It was not immediately clear what role the person allegedly played in the attack.
Police previously said the driver of the motorcycle carrying the gunman was captured and beaten by a crowd of people at the bar. The gunman has not been arrested.
Update 4:08 a.m. EDT June 12: A second suspect has been arrested in connection with Ortiz's shooting, according to the Dominican Republic's national prosecutor's office.
According to The Associated Press, "there is no public indication the man is the suspected shooter."
No further information was immediately available.
Update 7:05 p.m. EDT June 11: The mother of the suspect in the shooting of former Boston Red Sox David Ortiz said her son is innocent.
Dominican Republic National Police said Ortiz was at the Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo just before 9 p.m. Sunday when a gunman walked up from behind and shot him at close range.
Eddy Vladimir Feliz Garcia, 25, has been identified as a suspect involved in the shooting. Police said Garcia confessed to taking part in the shooting, but they haven’t been able to confirm if he was the shooter or if he was driving the motorcycle the shooter was arrived at the bar on.
Despite his alleged confession, Garcia’s mother told Telesistema she doesn’t believe her son is involved because she raised him well.
“That happened because of something like, without thinking. You understand?” Justina Garcia said. “I don't think he's a part of that. Because my children… I have given them a very good foundation."
A crowd of people at the bar detained and beat Garcia. He was treated at a hospital before being transferred to police custody.
Meantime, the injured Ortiz has taken his first steps after his latest surgery, according to CNN.
Update 12:20 p.m. EDT June 11: David Ortiz's wife, Tiffany Ortiz, said the 43-year-old was recovering Tuesday after undergoing a second surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
“He is stable, awake and resting comfortably this morning in the ICU, where he is expected to remain for the next several days,” she said.
David Oritz was flown Monday to Massachusetts, one day after authorities said he was shot in the back in an ambush at a bar in Dominican Republic.
Ortiz had been in stable condition in intensive care at a Santo Domingo hospital after doctors removed his gallbladder and part of his intestine, according to his spokesman, Leo López. He said Ortiz's liver was also damaged in the shooting Sunday night.
Update 11:00 p.m. EDT June 10: Former Red Sox player David Ortiz arrived in Boston Monday night after the baseball team sent a medical flight to Santo Domingo to bring back the beloved ex-first baseman, according to news organizations.
Ortiz, 43, underwent surgery in the Dominican Republic after the shooting. Doctors removed his gallbladder and part of his intestines, according to The Associated Press.
He was shot in the back Sunday night and "the bullet went through his stomach," a spokesman for the national police, Felix Durán Mejia, told CNN.
Doctors in the Dominican Republic had said they expected Ortiz to make a full recovery
He was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital Monday night for ongoing treatment .
Update 5:50 p.m. EDT June 10: Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is on his way to the U.S. An American medical team arrived in Santo Domingo to airlift Big Papi back to Boston, according to The Associated Press.
The Red Sox icon underwent surgery following an ambush by a gunman Sunday in his native country.
Doctors removed Ortiz’s gallbladder and part of his intestines. Spokesman Leo López said Ortiz's liver was also damaged in the shooting Sunday night.
Ortiz is a beloved sports hero in both Boston and the Dominican Republic. He led the Red Sox to three World Series championships, was a 10-time All-Star and hit 541 home runs.
It’s still unclear why Ortiz was ambushed and shot.
Update 12:15 p.m. EDT June 10: Former President Barack Obama shared well wishes for Ortiz on Monday as the former Red Sox slugger recovers from a gunshot wound.
Obama praised Ortiz’s “spirit and resolve” in the wake of the deadly 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
“Today, I want to join many others in wishing him a speedy recovery of his own,” Obama wrote Monday in a message posted to Twitter. “Get well soon, Papi.”
Citing family members, Boston Red Sox officials said in a statement early Monday that Ortiz was shot in the “lower back/abdominal region” while in the Dominican Republic on Sunday night.
He was hospitalized Monday after undergoing surgery and expected to recover. Authorities had a suspect in custody after the shooting , although they did not identify the suspect or share a possible motive for the attack.
Update 9:20 a.m. EDT June 10: In a statement released early Monday, the Red Sox said Ortiz's family told team officials he "sustained a gunshot wound to the lower back/abdominal region" in an incident in the Dominican Republic.
Team officials said Ortiz was being treated at Santo Domingo’s Clinica Abel Gonzalez and that he was recovering Monday after undergoing surgery.
“We have offered David’s family all available resources to aid in his recovery and will continue to keep the in our hearts,” the team said.
David Ortiz's father, Leo Ortiz, told reporters outside the hospital that his son was out of danger and that no damage had been done to his major organs, The Associated Press reported.
"He is out of surgery and stable; he is resting," Leo Ortiz said, according to the AP. "Big Papi will be around for a long time."
Leo Oritz told reporters he had no idea why someone would have shot his son.
Original report: Red Sox legend David Ortiz has been shot in the Dominican Republic, according to multiple reports.
ESPN baseball reporter Marly Rivera is reporting that, according to David Ortiz's father, Leo, Ortiz was shot and wounded at an amusement center in Santo Domingo in his native Dominican Republic.
Ortiz, affectionately known as "Big Papi," reportedly suffered a gunshot wound to the back. ESPN is reporting that Ortiz was taken to a medical center. His condition was unknown.
"At the moment, everything is confusing. I'm trying to find out where they took my son," Ortiz's father told ESPN.
Dominican TV station CDN 37 reported that Ortiz was shot in the back after initially reporting he had been wounded in the leg, according to The Associated Press.
Dominican National Police Director Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte told the AP that the gunman shot Ortiz at the Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo around 8:50 p.m. Sunday night.
That gunman was captured, Bautista told the AP, and beaten by the bar's patrons. Investigators are determining whether or not Ortiz was the intended target, Bautista told the AP.
Felix Duran Mejia, a spokesman for the Dominican National Police, reportedly told CNN that Ortiz was shot by a motorcyclist who approached Ortiz directly.
"The bullet went through his stomach," Mejia reportedly told CNN, adding that Ortiz's condition is "confidential."
Rivera, of ESPN, tweeted that Ortiz is out of danger, according to doctors. She also reports that Ortiz was in surgery as of 11:37 p.m. Sunday.
Rivera also cited a journalist in the Dominican Republic, who tweeted that Ortiz is stable and in surgery.
Rivera later tweeted just after 12:30 a.m. Monday that Ortiz was stable and recovering out of surgery.
ESPN is reporting that that same journalist, Dionisio Soldevila, said Ortiz told doctors, "Please don't let me die. I'm a good man."
Soldevila tweeted just after 12:30 a.m. on Monday that Ortiz's father told him that the former major-leaguer is resting, no organs were affected and that he is hoping for a full recovery.
The 43-year-old Ortiz was born in Santo Domingo. He spent 14 years with the Red Sox, winning three World Series with Boston and making 10 All-Star teams.
Ortiz, who played in the MLB for 20 seasons, was named World Series MVP in 2013, when he helped the Red Sox knock off the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2.
Ortiz, a beloved baseball player, is also known for the words of strength he gave to the city of Boston in the days following the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.
ESPN tweeted a series of posts from players in Major League Baseball who expressed their well-wishes for Ortiz.
Boston's WFXT has reached out to the Boston Red Sox and is awaiting a reply.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
