Over one week after he was shot during an armed robbery attempt, San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall attended the team’s season opener and met with first responders.
On Monday, September 9, during the 49ers matchup against the New York Jets, two of the first responders who helped Pearsall, 24, were honored before the game. San Francisco Police Department sergeant Joelle Harrell, the first officer to arrive at the scene in Union Square, attended with her husband. San Francisco General Hospital surgeon Dr. Luck Kornblith, who treated Pearsall at the hospital, was also in attendance.
Pearsall, who also celebrated his 24th birthday on Monday, took to the field to express his gratitude to both of the first responders — and give them each signed jerseys.
“God had bigger plans, blessed to see 24! 🙏,” Pearsall wrote via Instagram following the game alongside pictures of him with Harrell and Kornblith.
On August 31, the NFL released a statement that Pearsall was in “stable condition” after an armed robbery attempt earlier that day.
“San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was the victim of an attempted robbery and shooting this afternoon,” the NFL shared at the time. “He sustained a bullet wound to his chest and is in serious but stable condition.”
The statement continued, “We ask that you please respect his privacy at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ricky and the entire Pearsall family.”
According to police chief Bill Scott, Pearsall was shot in the chest while walking alone in central San Francisco in the afternoon.
“A struggle between Mr. Pearsall and the suspect ensued and gunfire from the suspect’s gun struck both Mr. Pearsall and the suspect,” Scott shared at the time, identifying the shooter as a 17-year-old male.
Both Pearsall and the shooter were taken to the local hospital for their injuries, with Scott adding that the police believe the suspect was acting alone. He has since been arrested.
“This kind of violence is simply unacceptable in our city and we will do everything in our power to work with District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to ensure that justice is served in this matter,” Scott added in the August 31 news briefing.
Jenkins announced on September 3, that the unnamed minor is facing an attempted murder charge after allegedly shooting Pearsall in the chest. He also faces a second-degree robbery charge and a charge for assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
After Pearsall was released from the hospital, he supported his team at 49ers practice on Thursday, September 5.
“It was really tough,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan recalled in an emotional press conference on Thursday. “We just knew that he got shot. And that was all we knew. And then it took us about an hour to figure out what the hospital was and things like that, because we just made a couple calls to people, so we had it from them. But none of us knew where he was or anything.”
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Shanahan, 44, noted that 40 minutes after the initial call, he got another call saying that Pearsall was conscious and going to survive, which was fully confirmed when Pearsall called Shanahan via FaceTime.
“That was like the first time I knew he was all right,” Shanahan shared, noting that it was “really amazing” to hear from Pearsall himself. “Because that hour when you hear about a shooting, we didn’t know where it was or anything, so you just assume the worst. Then to hear it was in the chest, you don’t think that usually goes that well. Then actually to talk to him, like, 15 minutes after that, and just talk to a guy that seems like he’s OK.”
