A rooke player for the San Francisco 49ers is lucky to be alive after he was robbed and shot at close range on August 31.
Ricky Pearsall, 23, was drafted by the team in April this year, a lifelong dream. On the last day of August, the wide receiver was walking to his car when a 17-year-old young man noticed his expensive watch and tried to steal it. The two struggled and the teen shot Pearsall several times. At the hospital while his injuries were being treated, Pearsall spoke to the 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan by phone while the team’s general manager, John Lynch, traveled to the hospital to see how his player was faring.
Shanahan, who has been head coach for the team for eight years, said all the players were worried about their newest teammate. He said he was glad to “be able to reassure” them that Pearsall had survived and would make a full recovery. Shanahan called it “a miracle” since Pearsall was shot more than once at close range. “The whole story is kind of amazing,” Shanahan said.
A few hours later, Pearsall was well enough to join a video call with the whole team.
Pearsall’s mother updated fans and friends on social media, writing that a bullet had pierced the right side of her son’s chest and came out his back, thankfully missing any vital organs. The trauma center at San Francisco General Hospital treated his wounds, and he was released this past Sunday. By the next day, Pearsall joined his team at their training grounds, but he’s not playing for the moment while he recovers. The rookie is also nursing a shoulder injury from earlier in the year.
Who shot Ricky Pearsall? The police are not releasing the identity of the 17-year-old male. He has been charged in juvenile court with attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic gun, and attempted second-degree robbery.
Deputy District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the shooting had “traumatized” the city and that it was up to her office to make sure the boy paid for his crime. The DA has not yet decided whether to charge the teen as an adult. He is set to be arraigned next week.
