Republished December 22, 2014 - 12:51 PM
Original Publication Date December 22, 2014 - 9:30 AM
CARACAS, Venezuela - Former NBA player Carl Herrera is out of intensive care and improving following a weekend shooting, the team he coaches and one of his sons said Monday.
The Gigantes de Guayana team said in a series of Twitter posts that Herrera, the first Venezuelan to play in the NBA, is no longer in critical condition "and is improving day by day."
Herrera, 48, was shot Saturday during an apparent robbery attempt at a restaurant on Margarita Island off Venezuela's Caribbean coast.
His son Johnatan said in an interview that Herrera had been moved to a room at a private clinic and has been able to walk and speak.
He said a bullet had passed through Herrera's arm and lodged in his side. The team said doctors had ruled out surgery.
The country's Interior Relations Minister Carmen Melendez said security forces are on the trail of the attackers.
Herrera was a power forward during the 1990s for Houston, San Antonio, Vancouver and Denver, scoring more than 2,400 points over a nine-year career. Now 48, he's coaching a team in the Venezuelan league.
The Trinidad-born player, who is also a citizen of Venezuela, attended the University of Houston.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014