Former Red Sox star David Ortiz underwent exploratory surgery after he arrived in Boston on Monday night and is in stable condition, his spokesperson told ESPN’s Marly Rivera.
The procedure lasted until about 1 a.m. ET, according to Leo Lopez, but he did not specify what doctors discovered. Ortiz remains in intensive care and will be closely monitored for the next 24 to 48 hours. Lopez said the number of visitors will be restricted.
Ortiz was shot at a club in his native Dominican Republic and underwent emergency surgery. He was stabilized and then flown to Boston and taken by ambulance, with police escort, to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Lopez told ESPN that Ortiz has been alert, has spoken to his family and “even flashed that smile.”
Ortiz was shot Sunday at a club in eastern Santo Domingo, a bustling nightlife district packed with dance clubs and bars. A team of surgeons, led by Dr. Abel Gonzalez, operated on Ortiz for six hours and repaired damage done by the bullet to both intestines and his liver. They also had to remove Ortiz’s gallbladder to work on the liver, though the gallbladder itself was not damaged.
Authorities said Ortiz, 43, was ambushed by a man who got off a motorcycle and shot him in the back at nearly point-blank range around 8:50 p.m. local time Sunday at the Dial Bar and Lounge.
Police have two people in custody, the suspected shooter and the suspected driver of the motorcycle, a source close to the investigation told ESPN Deportes. But officially, police have acknowledged the arrest of only one suspect.
The motorcycle driver has been identified as 25-year-old Eddy Feliz Garcia, who was captured and beaten by a crowd of people at the bar, according to Dominican National Police director Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte.
Garcia suffered a cranium contusion and trauma to his thorax, left knee and right leg, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Health Service. He was treated at the Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo before being released to police custody.
Police have not yet released the identity of the suspected gunman.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Ortiz was the intended target, Bautista said. Ortiz’s father, Leo, told local media he had no idea why someone would have shot at his son.
Ortiz, who was born in Santo Domingo, played major league baseball for 20 seasons and is best known for the 14 years he spent with Boston.
Ortiz made 10 All-Star teams and won three World Series with the Red Sox before retiring in 2016. He was named World Series MVP in 2013, when he helped the Red Sox defeat the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Red Sox retired Ortiz’s No. 34 in 2017, and Boston renamed a bridge and a stretch of road outside Fenway Park in his honor. He maintains a home in Weston, on the outskirts of Boston.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.