San Francisco 49ers rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall wasn’t the only person to be shot during Saturday’s botched mugging in Union Square.
Authorities say the attempted robbery backfired when the 17-year-old suspect took a bullet from his own gun during his struggle with Pearsall, who refused to surrender.
‘[Pearsall] wasn’t having any of it,’ an unnamed police captain told Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who relayed that quote to reporters.
The suspect was wounded in the hand or arm and is in stable condition at San Francisco General Hospital, police said. Pearsall was wounded in the chest and is in serious-but-stable condition at the same facility.
There is currently no indication that Pearsall was targeted because he is an NFL player. KTXL’s Sean Cunningham reported that officers said the robber was pursuing Pearsall’s Rolex, but Police Chief Bill Scott declined to confirm what it was the suspect was trying to steal.
Pearsall was moving slowly during the footage, which was shot from the opposite side of the street. He did not appear to be overly distressed
Cops say the 17-year-old suspect took a bullet from his gun during his struggle with Pearsall
‘We have a good idea [but] we’re not ready to release that at this time,’ Scott told reporters outside the hospital, as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The team revealed in its statement that Pearsall ‘sustained a bullet wound to his chest and is in serious but stable condition.’
Mayor London Breed called the shooting a ‘terrible and rare incident in Union Square.’
Breed referred to the incident as a ‘setback’ for an area that has seen crime drop in 2024.
‘The data goes out the window sometimes when something happens like this,’ Breed said, as quoted by the Chronicle.
San Francisco has been plagued by shootings for years, although Breed boasted in April that violent crime was down 14 percent compared with the same time frame in 2023. Specifically, gun violence was down 38 percent over the first quarter of 2024, according to City Hall.
Violent crime had skyrocketed in San Francisco during the pandemic, with 56 and 48 homicides in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Chronicle reporters saw five shell casings at the scene, where Pearsall had reportedly been shopping moments earlier.
One witness told the Chronicle that Pearsall had blood streaming down his left arm.
‘It was a scary situation,’ the witness, who asked not to be identified, told the Chronicle.
Pearsall was actually seen walking away from Saturday’s shooting.
As seen in a video shared on X by KTVU’s Zak Sos, the wounded Pearsall was led by emergency responders to a waiting ambulance, where he was placed on a stretcher. Pearsall was moving slowly during the footage, which was shot from the opposite side of the street. He did not appear to be overly distressed but was covering his chest area.
KGO-TV’s Dion Lim reported that Pearsall was signing autographs at Cow Palace before going downtown to Union Square for some shopping. Lim’s sources say he was at a high-end designer store moments before being shot.
Mayor London Breed speaks along with other officials following the Pearsall shooting
Pearsall was reportedly shopping at a high-end department store in the area before being shot
Police officers secure the area and investigate the scene of a shooting at Union Square
Blood and a shell casing is seen tagged as evidence as police officers secure the area
As seen in a video shared on X by KTVU’s Zak Sos, the wounded Pearsall was led by emergency responders to a waiting ambulance, where he was placed on a stretcher
Pearsall had been performing well in training camp before his shoulder injuries.
With starting receiver Brandon Aiyuk holding out until this week, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Pearsall impressed coaches and teammates with his polish.
‘I don’t like to compliment rookies too much, but I like his game,’ cornerback Isaac Yiadom said in early August, as quoted by the Associated Press. ‘I think he got some confidence, too. He got some dog in him, so he knows it. He knows he’s pretty good. I just hope that he continues to work. That’s the thing I like about him. He just goes to work. He just shuts up and he just goes to work.’
Coach Kyle Shannahan’s offense is notoriously difficult for young players – receivers in particular – but Pearsall appeared to grasping the scheme.
‘I think I’ve took big strides since I’ve got here,’ Pearsall said. ‘In the beginning, yes it was a little difficult. Coming into an offense like this, that’s very complex, there’s a lot to it. Trying to learn it all in one day is impossible. So I just kind of told myself that over and over again and just each day how I can get better and improve and knowing the playbook.’
