Watch CBS News

Police: Mastermind Offered To Pay $30,000 For Shooting That Wounded David Ortiz

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Police say a suspected drug trafficker offered to pay $30,000 for the shooting that wounded baseball slugger David Ortiz, who was sitting alongside the intended victim.

National Police spokesman Frank Félix Duran Mejía told a news conference on Sunday that the alleged mastermind of the attack had so far paid only $10,000 to people hired to arrange the killing of Sixto David Fernández, his cousin.

Victor Hugo Gomez
Victor Hugo Gomez. (Image credit: CBS News)

Duran Mejía said Víctor Hugo Gómez Vasquez feared Fernández would tell police of his presence in the Dominican Republic and blamed the cousin for an earlier arrest. Duran Mejía has denied trying to kill either Fernández or Ortiz, who remains hospitalized in Boston.

Police say they've arrested 14 people in the case and are searching for others.

(© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.