By: Megan Saul

Culture Editor

On Aug. 31, a 17-year-old boy shot Ricky Pearsall, the San Francisco 49ers’ rookie wide receiver. Pearsall was recently drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, but he was not previously playing due to preexisting injuries. He was injured during the conflict in San Francisco, which occurred while he was shopping in Union Square. The court is currently planning to charge the suspect with attempted murder, attempted second-degree robbery, and assault with a semiautomatic weapon.

The suspect fired three shots total, one hitting Pearsall’s chest and one hitting his forearm. Fortunately, neither of these bullets struck vital organs, causing no long-term damage. The other bullet struck the suspect himself in the arm. An ambulance took Pearsall and the suspect to the San Francisco General Hospital immediately after the attack, and Pearsall was released just a day later. The suspect was also in stable condition as the bullet caused no real damage.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office is still investigating this case, which will continue during the next hearing on Sept. 26. Deputy Public Defender Robert Dunlap, the lawyer for the suspect, said, “Hopefully by then, the prosecution will have made a decision with regard of whether or not to pursue this [case] as a juvenile, and of course we’re hoping that they’ll see my client for the teenager that he is and allow this to proceed in that fashion.” Dunlap also denied the Daily Mail’s statements that the suspect brought a weapon to school during the previous week. Although the event is still being investigated, police believe that the suspect was unaware that Pearsall was a football player and that the main motivation was to rob him, specifically attempting to take his jewelry, including his Rolex watch. Referring to the video released from this event, Dunlap said, “It was a rather extended struggle between Mr. Pearsall and my client. I think it supports what has always been my belief and theory in this case, in that this is an attempted robbery, and not an attempted murder.” 

During the 49er’s game on Sept. 9, Pearsall was on the sidelines alongside two first responders who were at the incident, Joelle Harrell and Frank Harrell, and a surgeon, Dr. Lucy Kornblith, who aided him at the hospital. Pearsall gifted these responders a signed jersey and honored them inside the stadium before the game. John Lynch, the 49ers general manager shared, “By the grace of God, Ricky Pearsall[is] here with the team and doing really well…He just wants to express, and the team wants to express, our gratitude to a variety of people: Number one, the San Francisco Police Department. They were incredible in their response, they were incredible at the hospital.” Although Pearsall is quickly recovering from his injuries, he is expected to be out for at least the next three games.