David Ortiz was flown from Santo Domingo to Boston Monday, where he received further medical attention following emergency surgery in the Dominican Republic after he was shot there Sunday night. The good news is, Ortiz is reportedly up and moving around and speaking with family, and is mostly out of danger. Meanwhile, back in Santo Domingo, the investigation into the shooting continues, and the details from that investigation are getting a little strange.
Three things were widely reported in the immediate aftermath of the incident Sunday night that turned out to be incorrect: that Ortiz was shot in the leg; that Ortiz was shot during a robbery attempt; and that the shooter was a man named Feliz Garcia, who was arrested Sunday night sometime after he was recorded on video being severely beaten by Ortiz fans. Turns out Ortiz was shot in the back by a man police have since identified as Rolfy Ferreyra, and police now depict the shooting as a botched assassination attempt coordinated by somewhere between six and ten co-conspirators. Surveillance video of the attack shows a man walking up behind a seated Ortiz, shooting him once in the back, and then freezing in place for a moment, before taking off on foot:
Police in the Dominican Republic say they’ve arrested Ferreyra, Garcia, and four other suspects, whose efforts were allegedly coordinated by an individual who was paid about the equivalent of $7,800 to mastermind the job, and who is among those in police custody. Cops say Garcia was driving the getaway motorcycle, which he apparently crashed or abandoned near enough to the scene for witnesses to circle him and brutally stomp him in the street. The hunt is reportedly still on for a group of people Ferreyra and Garcia were apparently seen on surveillance footage talking to immediately before the shooting. Per ESPN:
The four suspects still at large were identified as Luis Alfredo Rivas Clase, aka The Surgeon, as well as a woman known as The Venezuelan, or Red, and two other men, prosecutors said in a statement.
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“In one of the videos it was possible to observe both the accused and the shooter planning the commission of the incident right on Octavio Mejia Ricard Street, which is parallel to the place where the event took place,” the prosecutors said.
Garcia’s lawyer reportedly described his client as “an innocent motorcycle taxi driver” and a fan of David Ortiz, who had no idea he was transporting a would-be assassin. The police are reportedly continuing to interrogate the suspects in custody, but have not yet described their theory of motive for the surprisingly vast alleged conspiracy to shoot an otherwise widely beloved Dominican and future* Hall of Fame baseball player.