BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Former Red Sox Slugger David "Big Papi" Ortiz, 44, is in intensive care but in stable condition after he was shot in the back in his native Dominican Republic Sunday night according to authorities.
The shooting happened while Ortiz was at the Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo around 8:50 p.m. Sunday when a gunman approached from behind and shot him at close range said Dominican Republic National Police Director Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte.
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A suspect was detained at the scene, reportedly beaten up so severely by witnesses that he needed to be treated. Local media reports stay that the main suspect has been identified at 25-year-old Eddy Feliz Garcia.
Ortiz was in stable condition after undergoing a 6-hour surgery overnight.
Speaking to reporters outside a hospital Leo Ortiz, David Ortiz's father, said that the former slugger was in stable condition.
“He is out of surgery and stable; he is resting,” Leo Ortiz said. “Big Papi will be around for a long time.” He added he had no idea why someone would have shot at his son.
ESPN reports that doctors had to continue working on him late into the night,when parts of his intestines, colon and gallbladder had to be treated/removed.
He's expected to remain in intensive care for at least the next 24 hours.
Ortiz retired from baseball at the end of the 2016 season and is a special assistant to the Red Sox. He maintains a home in his native Dominican Republic.
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