Former Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz has had a third surgery, coming weeks after a gunman shot him in the back in his native Dominican Republic, his wife said in a statement Thursday.
“Earlier this week, David underwent a third surgery for complications resulting from his gunshot wound,” Tiffany Ortiz said. “The operation was performed by Dr. David King at Massachusetts General Hospital. David is recovering well and is in good spirits.”
A gunman shot Ortiz in the lower back on June 9while he was sitting on a crowded bar patio in Santo Domingo. The bullet passed through him, perforating his intestines and internal organs. It then hit his friend, TV talk-show host Jhoel Lopez, in the leg.
Following surgery in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz was flown to Boston, where he underwent a second operation. On June 22, Tiffany Ortiz said her husband was moved out of intensive care.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic say Ortiz was not the intended target of the shooting.
A friend of Ortiz — who shared a table with him at the bar — was the target of the bungled hit, according to Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez Sanchez.
Several people have been arrested, including Victor Hugo Gomez Vasquez, the alleged mastermind of the plot.
