The mother of San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall said her son is “in good spirits” after a bullet ripped through his chest and out his back without damaging vital organs.
Erin Pearsall shared the update early Sunday on Facebook, the morning after her 23-year-old son was shot by a suspect whom police described as a 17-year-old from Tracy, in an armed robbery attempt in San Francisco’s Union Square.
The teenager was reportedly trying to steal Pearsall’s Rolex watch.
“First and far most I want to thank God for protecting my baby boy,” Erin Pearsall wrote in the social media update on Sunday. “He is extremely lucky, God shielded him. He was shot in the chest and it exited out his back. Thanks be to God it missed his vital organs.”
In a statement posted hours after the shooting, the 49ers said Pearsall — the team’s first-round pick in the last NFL draft — was in stable condition.
“We ask that you please respect his privacy at this time,” the statement read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Ricky and the entire Pearsall family.”
A follow-up statement early Sunday afternoon shared that Pearsall had been released from the hospital “as he continues to recover from a bullet wound to his chest.
“He and his family, along with the entire San Francisco 49ers organization, would like to thank the San Francisco Police Department, emergency medical services, doctors and staff at San Francisco General Hospital.”
Police say the shooting took place at 3:30 p.m. Saturday by luxury shops around Geary Street and Grant Avenue, when the suspect pointed a gun at Pearsall while he was carrying shopping bags to his car.
A struggle ensued in which the gun went off; both the teen suspect and the football player were struck, police say.
The teenager tried to bolt from the scene, police say, but officers apprehended him.
Both the shooter, who had life-threatening injuries, and Pearsall were admitted to San Francisco General Hospital.
Crazy!! Footage of #49ers WR Ricky Pearsall walking to the ambulance after getting shot.
— 49ers & NFL News 24/7 (@49ersSportsTalk) September 1, 2024
Thank God he’s ok. pic.twitter.com/ZTnk5vmoA9
The shooting was quickly politicized by candidates running against Mayor London Breed in the fall election. Challengers Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie took to social media to cast the incident as a symbol of lawlessness in the city.
“No one — whether they live, work, or visit our beloved city — should ever have to fear for their safety in San Francisco,” Lurie wrote on X. “This senseless violence must end.”
“Enough is enough,” Farrell wrote on X. “If we want public safety in San Francisco, then we need change in City Hall.”
At a press conference outside the hospital, Breed emphasized that San Francisco is one of the nation’s safest big cities, calling the shooting “a terrible and rare incident.”
“We know San Francisco has the lowest violent crime rates than most major cities in this country,” she said. “But statistics don’t matter when incidents like this occur. What matters is supporting the victim and holding those accountable who break our laws and endanger the lives others.”
Despite a recent spate of shootings — including a stray bullet striking an 8-year-old girl Friday in the Crocker-Amazon neighborhood — reported crimes have declined in San Francisco by about a third compared with late August 2023.
Robberies, according to the same SFPD data, dropped 22% from the same timeframe in 2023.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office is deciding what charges to bring against the 17-year-old suspect in the Pearsall shooting.