2024-09-01 20:50:02
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot and seriously wounded Saturday afternoon during an attempted robbery in downtown San Francisco, his team said. Authorities announced that a 17-year-old male suspect is in custody.
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.
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The suspect tried to run from the scene but was captured by responding officers, Scott said.
Both Pearsall and the suspect, whose name was not provided because he is a juvenile, were transported to San Francisco General Hospital. The suspect is from the Northern California city of Tracy.
In their own statement, the 49ers said that Pearsall was in “serious but stable condition” after sustaining a “bullet wound to the chest.”
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.
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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.
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 these 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.”
CBS News has reached out to Pearsall’s representatives for comment.
The 23-year-old Pearsall was selected by the Niners in April as the 31st overall pick out of Florida.
