Boston’s ‘Big Papi’ Was Targeted by Drug Kingpin in 2019 Shooting

The date was June 9, 2019.

Around 8:50PM, in East Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, David Ortiz was shot. He was at the Dial Bar and Lounge with friends, when an unknown gunman rushed up behind him, and shot him from behind.

What would follow was a harrowing few weeks, involving surgeries, the removal of body parts, an emergency helicopter ride back into the United States, and over a month in Mass General Hospital.

What we did know, was that "Big Papi" was going to be okay. What we didn't know, was who had done this, and why it had happened.

That is, until today.

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Further Details on The Shooting of David Ortiz Have Been Released

First, allow me to take a step back in time. At the time of the initial incident, the Dominican Republic General's office announced that Ortiz has been accidentally shot, by an assailant who was attached to a Mexican drug cartel. The assailant in question had, allegedly, been meaning to take out someone else.

Instead, the shooter shot David Ortiz. Yeah, sure, whatever you say.

Fast forward to March 22nd, however, and new details have been released to the public, completely changing the story around his shooting. According to findings from former Boston police commissioner, Edward Davis, that were published in the Boston Globe, Ortiz was indeed the intended target of the shooting.

The person who organized the hit on Ortiz? Accused drug kingpin, César Peralta.

As the story goes, Peralta had felt disrespected by Ortiz because of a past transgression, and organized the hit against him. He is responsible for "sanctioning the hit squad" that attempted to carry out the shooting, as well.

After the incident, Ortiz hired private investigators to look into everything that had happened, and the above results are just now coming to light in the public. According to a story published by ESPN, Dominican authorities did not cooperate with the private investigation, adding another wrinkle into this story, as the Dominican General's office was responsible for publicizing incorrect information immediately following the shooting.

Peralta is being held without bail right now, and hopefully, his hit attempt against David Ortiz, is the last thing he's able to do as a free man.