(WHDH) — For the first time since being shot in the Dominican Republic last summer, Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz is talking about his fight to survive and his search for answers in the shooting.
In an interview with the Univision Network, the former Red Sox slugger spoke about the ride from the Santo Domingo bar to the hospital after being shot at nearly point-blank range.
“I was feeling something I had never felt in my life, I was fighting for my life, thinking I have to stay alive, get to the hospital conscious, so that when the doctors examined me I had the opportunity to survive,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz spent nearly two months at Mass General Hospital, where he underwent three surgeries. The Red Sox legend addressed a question that many have wondered since that night: Who would want to kill him?
“Number one, I do not have enemies, number two, I do not know why anyone would want to put me in that situation,” Ortiz said. “I am still searching for answers in my mind and I cannot figure out who would want to cause me harm of this magnitude. I just do not know why.”
Dominican national police initially said Ortiz was targeted, but then said it was a case of mistaken identity. Authorities have arrested 14 people in connection to the shooting and are still searching for a 15th suspect.
In the interview, Ortiz said he does not know if he was the intended target or not. He became emotional when talking about his sister and her prayers for him and discussed rumors surrounding the shooting, saying he does not understand how people came to certain conclusions.
“All of these people on social media, all of these people who put out misinformation wanting to ruin one’s reputation, the image they have built through years of sacrifice, that is not easy,” Ortiz said. “I am in a bed dying.”