A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the attempted murder and robbery of San Francisco 49ers player Ricky Pearsall.
The teenager has been charged with attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and attempted second-degree robbery.
Pearsall, 23, was shot in the chest and hospitalized overnight after Saturday’s shooting in downtown San Francisco. He was released Sunday and was back at the team’s facility Monday.
Pearsall was walking alone carrying shopping bags to his car shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday when a juvenile suspect attempted to rob him with a gun in the Union Square area, authorities said.
Officers on the scene responded immediately and provided emergency medical assistance and arrested the suspect. A witness showed Pearsall on video with a large wound to his chest as he was helped into an ambulance.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged following the attempted murder and robbery of Ricky Pearsall
Pearsall, 23, was shot in the chest and was hospitalized overnight after the shooting in San Francisco.
Police immediately arrested the 17-year-old suspect, who was not wearing shoes after losing them at the scene of the attack.
The teen is expected to appear in court Wednesday and prosecutors will seek to keep him in custody, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said.
Jenkins added that he would retain the option of asking the judge to transfer the case to adult court if he believes the juvenile system is “not equipped” to rehabilitate the defendant.
The 49ers placed the wide receiver on the reserve/non-football injury list on Monday, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting back to work.
The rookie will miss at least four games of his debut NFL season because of injuries he suffered after taking a bullet to the chest, but Pearsall was fit enough to report to the team’s San Francisco facility on Monday.
The wide receiver was in the team’s weight room, according to KNBR’s Tim Ryan, who spoke with Pearsall about the experience.
“I talked to him yesterday, he was in the gym,” Ryan said. “Thank God he’s not worse than he was… I know, his reputation has grown tremendously around here.”
On Monday, a San Francisco police sergeant revealed Pearsall’s heartbreaking first words after he was shot.
“He looked at me and said, ‘Am I going to die? ‘ And I said, ‘No.'” Sgt. Joelle Harrell told NBC Bay Area.
‘I took my hat off because I wanted to make eye contact with him. I wanted him to listen to me. I said, “Listen, look at me. I know you don’t know me, but I want you to trust me. It’s not your time.”
Harrell didn’t know Pearsall was an NFL player until he began treating the wound, before attempting to reassure him by telling him: “Remember, everything is going to be OK. You’re strong, be strong like you are on the field.”
“And he listened to me,” she added, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “He calmed down, and that’s what I wanted him to do.”
Police say the 17-year-old suspect was hit by a bullet from his gun during his fight with Pearsall.
San Francisco has been plagued by shootings for years, though Breed boasted in April that violent crime was down 14 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Specifically, gun violence was down 38 percent during the first quarter of 2024, according to City Hall.
Pearsall was selected in the first round in April by the 49ers with the 31st overall pick, but injuries have slowed him since joining the team.
He missed time during training camp with hamstring and shoulder issues before returning to practice last week in a blue non-contact jersey while his shoulder heals.
Pearsall began his college career at Arizona State and transferred to Florida for his final two seasons. He had 65 receptions for 965 yards and four touchdowns last season for the Gators and finished his college career with 159 receptions for 2,420 yards and 14 touchdowns.
