Teen charged with attempted murder in shooting death of 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall

The 17-year-old suspect in the weekend shooting death of San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Ricky Pearsall has been charged with attempted murder, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Tuesday afternoon.

The teen, who was charged in juvenile court, also faces charges of attempted second-degree robbery and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, Jenkins said.

The hearing is to be held on Wednesday, she added.

Pearsall will miss at least the first four games of the NFL season after he was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery.

On Monday, a week before the team’s regular-season opener against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, the 23-year-old Pearsall was placed on the non-football reserve/injured list.

The shooting occurred around 3:30 p.m. PT Saturday in San Francisco’s Union Square when a 17-year-old boy tried to rob Pearsall at gunpoint, leading to a physical altercation, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Pearsall and the suspect were struck by gunfire from the suspect’s gun, Police Chief William Scott said.

Officers treated Pearsall and the suspect and took them to a hospital for treatment, police said. The 49ers initially said Pearsall was in “serious but stable condition” and was released from the hospital on Sunday.

The teen suspect is from Tracy, California and has not been identified due to his age.

San Francisco Police Sergeant Joelle Harrell told ABC she helped treat Pearsall’s wound and spoke with him moments after the shooting.

“He said, ‘Am I going to die?’ and I told him, ‘Remember, everything’s going to be OK. You’re strong, right?’ Because I told him there, ‘Be strong, just like you are on the field,'” she said.

The daytime shooting at a busy San Francisco mall has once again put a spotlight on concerns about crime and violence in the city. Mayor London Breed said the shooting was a “terrible and rare incident in Union Square,” a busy public square where the city has increased police patrols in recent years.

“This incident takes us away from all the hard work we have done to make significant changes to public safety in San Francisco,” she said.

Police have not released a possible motive for the shooting, but there is no indication that Pearsall was targeted because he is a football player, Scott said Saturday.

The chief said it appears the suspect acted alone. Only one gun was involved in the shooting, and it was recovered, Scott said.

Pearsall’s mother, Erin, wrote on Facebook that the bullet passed through her son’s chest and exited through his back, missing vital organs.

On Tuesday, Jenkins offered her thoughts and prayers to Pearsall, his family and teammates, adding that the incident had caused them “significant trauma.”

“I also know that the San Francisco community has been shocked and it is now my job and the job of my office to make sure that we are held accountable in this matter and that we continue to work to ensure that San Francisco has a level of public safety that does not contribute to incidents like this in the future.”

Pearsall was selected by San Francisco with the 31st pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft earlier this year. Before the draft, Pearsall played three years at Arizona State and two at Florida during his collegiate career. In his final NCAA campaign, he amassed 965 yards and six touchdowns with the Gators.

The shooting saw Pearsall join an unenviable group of active NFL players who have fallen victim to gun violence in recent years.

In April, Houston Texans player Tank Dell suffered minor injuries in a shooting in Sanford, Florida.

Two years ago, Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Brian Robinson Jr. was shot twice during an attempted armed robbery a few weeks before the season began. He missed four games before returning to the field.

Interestingly, the NFL — then controlled by controversial owner Dan Snyder — used the shooting to criticize the “out-of-control violent crime in the District of Columbia” as part of an attack on District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, who was investigating the team’s workplace culture.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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