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Suspect in David Ortiz Shooting to Face Judge in Dominican Republic

What to Know

  • Red Sox great David Ortiz was flown via medical helicopter from Santo Domingo to Boston after being shot on Sunday.
  • Ortiz, also known as Big Papi, was shot at close range in the "lower back/abdominal region" while at a bar in his native Dominican Republic.
  • Doctors removed the retired athlete's gallbladder and part of his intestines.

A man involved in the shooting of former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic over the weekend is scheduled to face a judge.

Police say Eddy Vladimir Feliz Garcia, 25, was due in a Santo Domingo courtroom on Tuesday in connection with the Sunday shooting at the Dial Bar and Lounge.

Ortiz had been at the open-air bar and 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.

Enraged fans captured the motorcyclist and beat him bloody before handing him over to police, but the gunman was still at large Tuesday. A second arrest was reportedly made in the case on Tuesday night, although there was no word on whether or not it was the suspected gunman.

Doctors in Santo Domingo removed Ortiz's gallbladder and part of his intestines, and the former ballplayer was then flown to Boston for further treatment Monday night, undergoing two hours of exploratory surgery.

"David arrived at Massachusetts General Hospital last night and underwent a successful second surgery. He is stable, awake, and resting comfortably this morning in the ICU where he is expected to remain for the next several days," Tiffany Ortiz said in a statement issued by the Red Sox.

Garcia's family told NBC10 Boston he is a fan of Ortiz and had nothing to do with the incident.

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