Ortiz Shooting Suspect Makes Surprising New Claim

The man accused of shooting David Ortiz now says the baseball star wasn't the intended target. "It wasn't supposed to be David," said Rolfi Ferreira Cruz, speaking to reporters in Spanish from his jail cell in the Dominican Republic, per TMZ. The 25-year-old did not say who the intended target was, only that he mistook Ortiz for him because they were wearing similar clothes. "Tell them it wasn't meant for David," another man in the cell can be heard telling Cruz. Prosecutors, however, do not buy it.

"He can say whatever he wants in an interview," prosecution spokesman Erick Montilla tells CNN. "What matters is the investigation." Montilla says it's far-fetched to think that Cruz did not know that the man he shot was Ortiz, one of the most recognizable—and revered—figures in the nation. He suggests that Cruz is lying to keep himself safe in prison. "If you observe the video (of the shooting), he goes directly to where the victim is and shoots without hesitation." Nine people have been arrested in the shooting, though police have not revealed a motive. Ortiz, meanwhile, continues to recuperate in a Boston hospital. (More David Ortiz stories.)