A 17-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder over the shooting of the San Francisco 49ers’ Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Tuesday.
The unnamed minor was arrested after the wide receiver was shot during an attempted robbery in the city’s Union Square on Saturday afternoon, according to police. The teen also faces charges of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and second-degree robbery, Jenkins said.
The San Francisco Police Department said the shooting took place around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, when 23-year-old Pearsall was approached by a suspect who tried to rob him at gunpoint, sparking a physical altercation. “The struggle between Mr. Pearsall and the suspect ensued, and gunfire from the suspect’s gun struck both Mr. Pearsall and the subject,” San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said.
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The wounded teen was caught as he tried to flee the scene, police say.
Pearsall, who was drafted by the Niners in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, was released from a hospital on Sunday, the team said. His mother, Erin Pearsall, posted on social media that he’d been shot in the chest and the bullet exited out his back, according to ESPN.
John Lynch, the 49ers’ general manager, said Tuesday that Perarsall hadn’t needed surgery and that it was “really miraculous” he hadn’t been more severely hurt. The athlete has been put on the reserve/non-football injury list and will have to miss at least four games.
“He’s doing remarkably well,” Lynch said. “That’s kind of uncharted territory. It’s not every day you deal with something like this.”
