Teen charged with attempted murder in shooting of 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall

The 17-year-old suspect in the weekend shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is being charged with attempted murder, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Tuesday afternoon.

The teen, who was charged in juvenile court, also faces charges of attempted second-degree robbery and assault with a semi-automatic firearm, Jenkins said.

The arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday, he added.

Pearsall will miss at least the first four games of the NFL season after he was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery.

The 49ers placed Pearsall, 23, on the reserve/non-football injury list on Monday, a week before the team’s regular-season opener against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.

The shooting took place around 3:30 p.m. PT Saturday in San Francisco’s Union Square when a 17-year-old attempted to rob Pearsall at gunpoint, leading to a physical altercation, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Pearsall and the suspect were both struck by gunfire from the suspect’s gun, Police Chief William Scott said.

Officers rendered aid to Pearsall and the suspect and transported them to a hospital for treatment, police said. The 49ers initially said Pearsall was in “serious but stable condition” and was released from the hospital on Sunday.

The teenage suspect is from Tracy, California, and has not been identified due to his age.

San Francisco Police Sgt. Joelle Harrell told ABC she helped treat Pearsall’s wound and spoke to him moments after the shooting.

“He asked me, ‘Am I going to die?’ and I said, ‘Remember, you’re going to be OK. You’re strong, right?’ Because I had told him, ‘Be strong like you are on the field,’” she said.

The daytime shooting at a busy San Francisco shopping mall has again highlighted concerns about crime and violence in the city. Mayor London Breed said the shooting was “a terrible and rare incident in Union Square,” the busy public plaza where the city has increased police presence in recent years.

“This incident sets us back on all the hard work we have done to make significant changes to public safety in San Francisco,” he said.

Police have not announced a possible motive for the shooting, but there is no indication Pearsall was targeted because he is a football player, Scott said Saturday.

The chief said it appeared the suspect acted alone. Only one handgun was involved in the shooting and it has since been recovered, Scott said.

Pearsall’s mother, Erin, wrote on Facebook that the bullet entered her son’s chest and exited through his back, missing any vital organs.

On Tuesday, Jenkins offered his thoughts and prayers to Pearsall, his family and teammates, adding that they have been “significantly traumatized” by the incident.

“I also know that the San Francisco community has been traumatized, and it is now my job and the job of my office to ensure that we hold ourselves accountable in this case and move forward to ensure that San Francisco has a level of public safety that does not contribute to these events happening again in the future.”

Pearsall was selected by San Francisco with the 31st pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft earlier this year. Prior to being selected, Pearsall played three years at Arizona State and two at Florida during his college career. In his final NCAA campaign, he racked up 965 receiving yards and six touchdowns for the Gators.

With the shooting, Pearsall joins an unenviable group of active NFL players who have been victims of gun violence in recent years.

In April, Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell suffered minor injuries in a mass shooting in Sanford, Florida.

Two years ago, then-Washington Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. was shot twice in an attempted armed robbery just weeks before the start of the season. He missed four games before returning to play.

Notably, the NFL franchise, at the time controlled by controversial owner Dan Snyder, used the shooting to criticize “out-of-control violent crime in DC” as part of an attack on DC Attorney General Karl Racine, who was investigating the team’s workplace culture.

This story has been updated with additional information.

For more news and newsletters from CNN, create an account at CNN.com