Teenager is charged over shooting of NFL star Ricky Pearsall in San Francisco

A 17-year-old has been charged with the attempted murder and robbery of San Francisco 49ers player Ricky Pearsall.

The teen is 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 following the shooting in central San Francisco on Saturday. He was released from the hospital on Sunday and was back at the team facility on Monday.

Pearsall was walking alone with grocery bags to his car shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon when a juvenile suspect attempted to rob him at gunpoint near Union Square, authorities said.

Officers in the area responded immediately and provided emergency medical care and arrested the suspect. Pearsall was shown on witness video with a large chest wound as he was helped into an ambulance.

Pearsall, 23, was shot in the chest and remained hospitalized overnight after the San Francisco shooting

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 on Wednesday and prosecutors will attempt to keep him or her in custody, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said.

Jenkins added that she would reserve the option of asking the judge to move the case to adult court if she believes the juvenile justice system is “not equipped” to rehabilitate the accused.

The 49ers placed the wide receiver on the reserve/non-football injured list on Monday, but that didn’t stop him from returning to work.

The rookie will miss at least four games of his NFL debut season because of injuries sustained after being shot in the chest, but Pearsall was fit enough to report to San Francisco’s training facilities on Monday.

According to KNBR’s Tim Ryan, the wideout was in the team’s weight room, who spoke with Pearsall about the experience.

“I spoke to him yesterday, he was actually in the weight room,” Ryan said. “Luckily it’s not worse than it was… I know, his street cred has improved a lot here.”

On Monday, a San Francisco police officer revealed Pearsall’s first terrifying words after he was shot.

Sergeant Joelle Harrell said, per NBC Bay Area: “He looked at me and said, ‘Am I going to die?’ I just said, ‘No.’”

‘I take my hat off because I wanted to make eye contact with him. I wanted him to hear me. I said to him, “Listen, look at me. I know you don’t know me, but I want you to trust me, it’s not your time yet.”‘

Harrell didn’t know Pearsall was an NFL player until she began treating the wound, at which point she tried to reassure him by saying, “Remember, you’re going to be OK. You’re strong, be strong like you are on the field.”

“And he listened,” she added, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “He calmed down, and that’s what I wanted him to do.”

According to police, the 17-year-old suspect was shot from his gun during his struggle 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. According to City Hall, gun violence was down 38 percent in the first quarter of 2024.

Pearsall was selected 31st overall in the first round by the 49ers in April, but has struggled with injuries since joining the team.

He missed a period of training camp with hamstring and shoulder problems, but returned to training last week in a blue 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 catches for 965 yards and four touchdowns last season for the Gators and finished his college career with 159 catches for 2,420 yards and 14 TDs.