San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was released from the hospital and is recovering after he was shot and seriously wounded in an attempted robbery, his team said Sunday.
The 49ers said he is recovering from a bullet wound to his chest.
“He and his family, along with the entire San Francisco 49ers organization, would like to thank the San Francisco Police Department, emergency medical services, doctors, and staff at San Francisco General Hospital,” the team’s statement said.
In a news briefing Saturday night, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said Pearsall was walking about a block from Union Square at around 3:30 p.m. local time when the armed suspect approached and attempted to rob him, prompting 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,” Scott said.
The suspect tried to run from the scene but was captured by responding officers, Scott said. Authorities announced that a 17-year-old male suspect is in custody.
Both Pearsall and the suspect, whose name was not provided because he is a minor, were taken to San Francisco General Hospital. The suspect is from the Northern California city of Tracy.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed also told reporters that Pearsall was in stable condition, while Scott added that Pearsall was “talking, and that’s a good thing.”
The suspect was also hospitalized in stable condition, Scott disclosed.
The police chief said two rounds were fired from the suspect’s gun during the altercation. The gun was recovered at the scene.
Scott said that there was “no indication” that Pearsall “was targeted because he was a football player.” At this time, investigators also believe that the suspect acted alone.
Video recorded by a witness showed Pearsall, shirtless with a large chest wound, being helped into an ambulance, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said that she expects criminal charges to be filed by Wednesday.
The suspect will be charged in the juvenile court “as we continue to review the evidence to figure out where to go from there,” Jenkins said.
“This was a terrible and rare incident in Union Square,” said Breed.
Breed and Scott said there are extra officers in Union Square already, and after this incident, they will continue to increase that.
Breed emphasized that she doesn’t want people coming into San Francisco and committing these types of crimes.
She says Jenkins will prosecute this case, and cases like it, to the fullest extent.
“This is how we hold people accountable in San Francisco,” said Breed. “Robberies and any violence like this will not be tolerated in our city.”
“I think it’s a very serious inflection point because it relates to the most pressing issue on the docket for everyone: public safety,” said Professor James Taylor. “This does not bode well for London Breed as the incumbent because she’s in power and this happened on her watch. Of course, she had nothing to do with it but, as the person in charge, there’s a blessing and a curse that comes with incumbency.”
