Reports: Ex-Twin, Red Sox star David Ortiz shot in the Dominican Republic; full recovery expected
UPDATE 6 A.M.
David Ortiz is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery on a gunshot wound in the Dominican Republic, according to local reporter Dionisio Soldevila.
Soldevila spoke with Ortiz's father, who said Ortiz didn't suffer any major organ damage from the bullet that entered the left side of his lower back and exited the left side of his abdomen.
"Ortiz had to remove parts of the intestines and the colon and remove the gallbladder. His liver was damaged, too," a source told ESPN's Enrique Rojas.
The shooting was captured on security cameras and shared on social media late Sunday night, with authorities telling ESPN Deportes that the shooter got off a motorcycle, walked up to the Ortiz in a bar and shot him at nearly point-blank range.
The alleged shooter was then captured by a crowd and beaten before being arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment, ESPN Deportes adds.
Ortiz, 43, who played for the Twins for six seasons before joining the Red Sox, is a baseball hero in Boston and the Dominican Republic. There is a street and bridge named after him near Fenway Park in Boston and the team retired his jersey in 2017.
Original story 9:50 p.m. Sunday
Former Twin turned World Series hero for the Boston Red Sox David Ortiz was transported to a hospital after being shot in the Dominican Republic on Sunday night, according to multiple reports.
Ortiz's father, Leo Ortiz, confirmed the shooting to ESPN, with Enrique Rojas reporting that it happened at an amusement center in Santo Domingo.
Leo Ortiz was not able to tell Rojas how severely wounded his son was in the shooting, nor did he know where he was taken for treatment.
CNN reports he was shot in the back.
Ortiz played 20 seasons in the MLB, the last 14 of which were in Boston where he helped the Red Sox win three championships.
Ortiz played six seasons with the Twins (1997-2002) before being released, only to be claimed by Boston where he immediately turned into a superstar, finishing as a top-five vote-getter in the American League MVP vote five consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2007 and going on to play in 10 All-Star games.
