A teen suspect in the shooting of San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic weapon and attempted second-degree robbery, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement.
The minor is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday at the Juvenile Justice Center.
State law prevents Jenkins from charging a minor as an adult. But she said that if her investigation reveals the teenage suspect should be tried in adult court, she would request a judge to make a ruling on transferring the case. Jenkins added that it was too early for her to make that determination.
Pearsall, 23, was walking alone to his car shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday after shopping at luxury stores in Union Square when a teenage suspect spotted the NFL player “for his expensive watch,” San Francisco Police Sgt. Frank Harrell told the San Francisco Chronicle.
A struggle ensued and gunfire from the 17-year-old suspect’s gun struck Pearsall and the teenager, who was shot in the arm, police said.
The 49ers rookie was shot through the chest at close range, officials said. His mother, Erin Pearsall, posted on social media that the bullet went through the right side of her son’s chest and out his back without striking any vital organs.
Pearsall was released Sunday from the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. He was back at the team facility on Monday, 49ers general manager John Lynch said Tuesday. The Niners placed Pearsall on the non-football injury list Monday, giving him time to recover from the shooting and a shoulder injury that had limited him all summer, Lynch said.
The condition of the suspect, who was transported to the same hospital, has not been disclosed. The young male suspect is a resident of Tracy, a city about 60 miles east of San Francisco, police said.
He was arrested about a block away from where he allegedly confronted Pearsall.
Lynch thanked San Francisco Sgt. Joelle Harrell, who is married to Sgt. Frank Harrell, and was the first officer on the scene after she heard gunshots and rushed to the area. She told reporters she gave Pearsall immediate treatment and kept him calm.
She used Pearsall’s shirt to create pressure on his chest wound and her baseball cap to press against the bullet’s exit wound in his back. After Pearsall asked her if he was going to die, she told him to stay calm.
Lynch on Tuesday marveled at the rookie’s recovery.
“He’s doing so much better today than he was yesterday,” Lynch said. “Just really, really miraculous.”
Pearsall, a wide receiver out of Florida, was selected with the 2024 NFL Draft’s No. 31 overall pick by the 49ers, who open their season on Monday Night Football against the New York Jets.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
