San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was released from the hospital on Sunday after being shot in the chest in a robbery attempt on Saturday in the city’s Union Square district, the team announced.
Pearsall, 23, had been upgraded to fair condition, according to media reports, after being listed as “serious but stable condition” in a team statement on Saturday night.
“San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was released from the hospital this afternoon as he continues to recover from a bullet wound to his chest,” the team said in a statement Sunday. “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.”
His mother, Erin Pearsall, said in social media post on Sunday that her son was “extremely lucky.”
“First and (foremost) I want to thank GOD for protecting my baby boy,” she wrote on Facebook. “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 … My son was spared today by the grace of GOD.”
The suspect in the attempted robbery, identified by police as a 17-year-old from Tracy, Calif., was arrested Saturday as he attempted to run from the scene, San Francisco police chief William Scott said. The alleged gunman also was hospitalized after the shooting – his condition not immediately disclosed — and charges against him are pending.
Pearsall was taken to San Francisco General Hospital. Video shot in Union Square and posted to social media showed a shirtless Pearsall gingerly walking to an ambulance with assistance from police. As he sat on a gurney, he moved his left hand, which was pressing his shirt against the right side of his chest, near his shoulder, and blood was visible.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the 911 call came in at 3:28 p.m. local time, and when police responded, there were two gunshot victims. The other victim was the alleged robber, shot while in a struggle with Pearsall over the gun.
“A struggle between Mr. Pearsall and the suspect ensued and gunfire from the suspect’s gun struck both Mr. Pearsall and the subject,” Scott said Saturday during a news briefing.
Aaron Peskin, the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said he received a briefing from police and was told Pearsall fought back.
Pearsall was signing autographs at an event earlier Saturday before heading to Union Square, according to ABC 7 San Francisco.
The 49ers selected Pearsall, a wide receiver who will turn 24 on Sept. 9, with the 31st pick in the April draft, and he signed a four-year, $12.5 million guaranteed contract with a $5.9 million signing bonus.
He was limited in training camp because of shoulder and hamstring issues, missing all three preseason games. He has a history of shoulder problems dating to his college days at Florida.
–Field Level Media
