David Ortiz Speaks Out About Being Shot: “I Want to Find Out Who Did This”

The Red Sox legend admits he "started losing hope" during his grueling recovery

David Ortiz addresses the crowd before the game between the Red Sox and Yankees. (Maddie Meyer/Getty)
David Ortiz addresses the crowd before the game between the Red Sox and Yankees. (Maddie Meyer/Getty)
Getty Images

It’s been over three months since he was gunned down in the Dominican Republic, and this weekend David Ortiz finally broke his silence, speaking to the Boston Globe about the attack, his grueling recovery and his hope that the people responsible will be brought to justice.

“People need to understand, this isn’t a movie where you get shot in the street and you’re back two minutes later,” Ortiz told the publication. “No, I got shot and almost died. I only have one life to live. I can’t just go to the pharmacy and buy another one.”

The Red Sox legend recalled how a good samaritan, Eliezer Salvador, helped him into his car and drove him to a clinic, ramming his way out of a parking space the car was boxed in to and weaving through traffic. “He knew how to react,” Ortiz said. “He kept talking to me to make sure I stayed awake.”

Ortiz also spoke about the acute bacterial infection that he contracted three weeks after his second surgery, revealing that for seven weeks he could swallow nothing but melted ice chips and admitting he “started losing hope.” “I felt that if I didn’t die, then I would never be the same again,” he said. “I went through hell with that.”

He insists he has no idea why he was targeted, but last month he hired former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis to investigate the shooting. “I want to find out who did this,” Ortiz said. “I’m not going to sit around and chill if there’s somebody out there who wants to kill me.”

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