Dominican Criminal Who Called for Big Papi’s Head Arrested

By: Peter Caceci


Authorities have made a major breakthrough in the Ortiz shooting case this past Friday, by arresting Victor Hugo Gómez, the man who was in charge of the decision making. Gómez, considered to be a dangerous fugitive, was detained in the Caribbean country of the Dominican Republic after trying to flee to Puerto Rico. It is unknown at the moment of the charges that he will face, not just with the attempted murder, but with the drug-affiliation with several cartels.

​For those who have not already heard about the incident, David Ortiz was spending some time in the Dominican Republic, where he was approached by three individuals who immediately opened fire on the ex-Red Sox player. He received gruesome injuries to the liver, but later made a full recovery at hospitals not too far from the crime and in the United States.  The hired gunmen were supposedly seeking Ortiz out due to an apparent affair that he was having with a “drug lord’s” wife. This story though has changed after further investigation.

Gómez claims that he did not have any intention of killing Ortiz, and that the gunmen had found themselves in a case of “mistaken identity”. He went on to add that he was actually trying to go after his cousin, Sixto David Hernandez, who was sharing a table with Ortiz that night. Carlos Rubio, Gómez’s lawyer, did not add anything further to his client’s claims, but did post a long video on YouTube of Gómez apologizing for the crime. 

The murder attempt took a big shot to baseball players and fans everywhere, especially those in the New England area. David Ortiz is a legend in Boston, being a primary member of the infamous 2004 Red Sox team that won the World Series and broke the infamous “Bambino Curse”. He would follow this success by winning two more championships in 2007 and 2013.  Other major statistics would be hitting 541 home runs and batting in 1,768 runs throughout his entire career. Current and retired players took to social media to express their concerns for “Big Papi”, hoping for a speedy recovery.

Considering this was a mistake, tourists all over the world, not just in the Caribbean should tread lightly for their own safety. Ortiz is one of many for this summer that were either injured or killed by a local criminal. As a traveler myself, I have been to some pretty shady areas in the Caribbean, and I hope that for the sake of everyone out there, that everyone watches themselves. I hope that David Ortiz makes a recovery, which he is currently, and that he does not find himself in a similar situation again.

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