SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The chief prosecutor in the Dominican Republic says five people, including the alleged gunman, have been detained in the shooting of former Red Sox star David Ortiz.
Authorities say a sixth suspect is being pursued in the shooting, which witnesses say was carried out by two men on a motorcycle and two other groups of people in cars.
The Dominican Republic’s chief prosecutor Jean Alain Rodriguez Sanchez 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 at a popular Santo Domingo bar Sunday night.
The Red Sox Wednesday issued a statement on behalf of Tiffany Ortiz, wife of former player, David Ortiz
The statement read:
“David continues to recuperate today in the Intensive Care Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital under the direction of treating trauma surgeon Dr. David King.
“Yesterday and this morning, David was able to sit up as well as take some steps. His condition is guarded and he will remain in the ICU for the coming days, but he is making good progress towards recovery.
“My family and I again want to thank everyone for their endless love and well wishes, and still ask for privacy while David continues to heal.”
As the former Red Sox slugger lies in intensive care in Boston, recovering from the bullet fired into his back at the Dial on Sunday night, police are investigating what aspect of the national hero’s life made him the target of what appeared to be an assassination attempt.
Ortíz was so relaxed at the open-air hotspot Sunday that he had his back to the sidewalk as a gunman — a passenger on a motorcycle — got off the bike just before 9 p.m., approached the 43-year-old retired athlete and fired a single shot at close range before escaping.
The motorcyclist, Eddy Vladimir Féliz Garcia, who had a 2017 arrest for drug possession, was one of several people in custody as of Tuesday afternoon, a law-enforcement official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to release details of the investigation.
Ortíz has a six-bedroom, $6 million home in the wealthy Boston suburb of Weston, Massachusetts, that he shared with his wife and three children but has put the place up for sale. He visits his father and sister in Santo Domingo about six times a year, according to a close friend who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.