A total of six suspects in the Dominican Republic have been arrested in the alleged plot to assassinate baseball legend David Ortiz.
Dominican authorities are still searching for four other suspects, although no motive has been released for the shooting, according to the Associated Press.
“At this moment, they are being interrogated, and we will continue deepening the investigation to get to the truth about what happened,” said Chief Prosecutor Jean Alain Rodríguez. “Nobody involved in this unfortunate episode will escape justice, neither those who carried it out nor the mastermind.”
The 43-year-old Ortiz, a 10-time All-Star known as Big Papi, is a national icon in the Caribbean nation. Ortiz is also hailed as a sports hero by fans of the Boston Red Sox, the team he played for from 2003 to 2016.
On Sunday, Ortiz was shot in the back while at a bar in Santo Domingo. Maj. Gen. Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte, the national police director, said that the person who coordinated the attack was offered almost $8,000 to plan the shooting. The coordinator is among those detained by police.
Bautista said that officials in the island nation would continue to work toward bringing those who planned and perpetrated the shooting to justice.
“We recognize the symbolism that David Ortiz represents, and we promise that this case will be cleared up completely,” he said.
Ortiz is back in Boston recovering from the shooting. He underwent two surgeries and suffered liver damage but is expected to recover.
“His condition is guarded, and he will remain in the ICU for the coming days, but he is making good progress toward recovery,” Ortiz’s wife, Tiffany Ortiz, said in a statement.
