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Ortiz was shot during the night of June 9 while
seated at an open-air nightclub in the capital of his native
country. However, Rodriguez said the attackers had meant to kill
another man sitting at the table with the popular baseball star.
"The investigation shows that the object of the criminal attack
on David Ortiz was not him," Rodriguez told a news conference,
saying that the intended victim had been a friend of Ortiz, whom
he identified as Sixto David Fernandez.
Ortiz, a national hero in the Dominican Republic, has been
recovering in a Boston hospital since the attack took place. His
friend Jhoel Lopez, a television host, was also wounded in the
leg in the shooting.
Fernandez was a frequent visitor to the club and regularly
reserved a table there on Sundays, Rodriguez added.
The man suspected of planning the attack was Victor Hugo Gomez,
a fugitive from U.S. justice with links to Mexico's Gulf Cartel
drug gang, who believed Fernandez had betrayed him to law
enforcement authorities some years ago, Rodriguez said.
Several arrests have been made over the attack, and Rodriguez
said during his news conference that four more people linked to
the shooting had been taken into custody.
Among them was Ramon Martinez Perez, the man suspected of
carrying out the attack, he added.
Widely known as "Big Papi," the 43-year-old Ortiz is a sporting
legend in Boston for his role in three World Series baseball
championships.
(Additional reporting by Geraldine Downer; Editing by Dave
Graham and Michael Perry)
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