49ers’ Ricky Pearsall stable after San Francisco shooting

Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, the 49ers’ first-round draft pick last spring, is in serious but stable condition after he was shot in the chest Saturday afternoon during an attempted robbery near Union Square in San Francisco, the 49ers confirmed.

At a news conference Saturday night, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said the suspect who allegedly attempted to rob Pearsall was a 17-year-old male from Tracy. Scott said both men were injured by the suspect’s weapon and that multiple shots were fired, but he would not provide further details because the investigation was ongoing. Scott said the weapon was recovered and the suspect was in custody.

Pearsall walked to the ambulance on his own as a paramedic applied pressure to his chest and back with some sort of bandage, as seen in an X/Twitter posted by KTVU’s Zak Sos.

“He’s good. Thank God!!!!” 49ers teammate Deebo Samuel posted on X/Twitter about Pearsall, with emojis symbolizing a prayer and crossed fingers.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins also spoke at the news conference. “This was a terrible and rare incident in Union Square,” Breed said. “But statistics don’t matter. When incidents like this happen, it’s important to support the victim and hold accountable those who break our laws and endanger the lives of others,” she said.

Jenkins said her office expects to make a decision on charges by the middle of next week. “This is a setback because a lot of that hard work and the data, you know, sometimes goes out the window when something like this happens, and I’m hoping that we can show that this is an isolated incident, one where our officers acted quickly, and the things that we put in place and how they were designed led to an arrest and will lead to accountability.”

“There will be accountability for those who commit these types of acts in San Francisco,” Jenkins said. She explained that charges will be filed in the juvenile court system because the defendant is not an adult. “We are not a city that will tolerate this type of behavior.”

San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Capt. Justin Schorr confirmed his department took two patients to the hospital Saturday afternoon for suspected gunshot wounds, but could not provide identities or other information about the patients. Schorr said the first 911 call about shots fired came at 3:38 p.m. on Geary and Grants streets, a block from Union Square.

“Two people were injured, we took good care of them and they are in the hospital,” said Schorr, who noted that one victim is in critical condition and the other is in stable condition at San Francisco General Hospital.

According to KTVU’s Sal Castaneda, Pearsall’s Rolex watch was the target of the attempted theft, based on multiple sources.

The 49ers asked the public to respect Pearsall’s privacy, adding, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Ricky and the entire Pearsall family.”

“I am deeply shocked and saddened by the shooting of 49ers player Ricky Pearsall in Union Square today,” San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said in a statement. “This type of violence has no place in our city and will never be tolerated. My condolences go out to Mr. Pearsall and his family and I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Earlier on Saturday, Pearsall signed autographs at a card show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

So far this year, San Francisco police have reported 1,400 robberies, down 21 percent from the same period last year. Police said their investigation into Saturday’s shooting is ongoing and that anyone with information is asked to call the tip line at 1-415-575-4444 or text TIP411.

Pearsall, 23, is originally from Phoenix, Arizona and is entering his first NFL season after playing the past two seasons at the collegiate level for Florida and the three years before that for Arizona State.