(Reuters) - Dominican police arrested a second suspect on Tuesday evening in the shooting of David Ortiz, the retired Boston Red Sox baseball star, the Boston Globe reported.
The arrest came as Ortiz, 43, took his first steps in a Boston hospital room following a second round of surgery on Tuesday, news outlets reported.
Ortiz was shot in the torso on Sunday evening at a nightclub in Santo Domingo, the capital of his native Dominican Republic, after a gunman rolled up on a motorcycle. His friend Jhoel López, a television host, was also wounded in the shooting.
Police quickly arrested one suspect, identified as Eddy Féliz García, who was beaten by bystanders at the scene.
Féliz appeared in court on Tuesday evening, charged with being an accomplice to the attempted murder of Ortiz, CNN reported. A judge is due to rule on Wednesday on whether to grant prosecutors' request to keep Féliz in custody ahead of his trial, CNN reported.
Féliz's lawyer, Deivi Solano, said his client did not shoot Ortiz, but works as a motorcycle taxi driver and may have unwittingly driven the shooter to the scene, CNN reported.
The second suspect remained in custody on Tuesday evening, the Globe reported, citing an unnamed official. Police have not released the identity of that suspect, the Globe reported.
Ortiz underwent a first round of surgery in Santo Domingo on Sunday night before being flown to Boston. After more surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, Ortiz was "stable, awake and resting comfortably," according to a statement released on Tuesday by his wife, Tiffany Ortiz.
Known as "Big Papi," Ortiz is still a hero in Boston for his role in three World Series championships and for his uplifting remarks in the days after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Larry King and Jeffrey Benkoe)