A California teenager accused of shooting and killing 49ers rookie wide receiver and first-round draft pick Ricky Piersall during an attempted robbery in San Francisco on Saturday has been charged with murder.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Tuesday night that an unidentified 17-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic rifle and attempted robbery.
Jenkins said charges will be filed in juvenile court and the suspect is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.
“Under California law, district attorneys can no longer bring such charges against minors in adult court,” Jenkins said.
“The only way to do that is to request a transfer hearing, which requires a judge to make a determination of whether the minor is fit to be transferred to adult court, which essentially means the juvenile justice system is not prepared to rehabilitate that minor.”
Jenkins said her office will “review this case more closely to determine whether to seek a competency hearing.”
Pearsall, 23, was shot in the chest in San Francisco's Union Square around 3:30pm on Saturday by a 17-year-old gunman who was trying to steal Pearsall's Rolex watch.
The rookie fought off the robbers, but one bullet hit him and the other struck the suspect.
The suspect was arrested almost immediately as he attempted to flee on foot through the busy street.
Officers rescued Pearsall and the suspect before transporting them to the hospital for treatment, where the rookie's condition is listed as “serious but stable.”
The first-round draft pick had been signing autographs earlier in the afternoon before he was shot.
Pearsall was released from hospital on Sunday and his mother, Erin, said her son was “very lucky.”
“First and foremost, I want to thank God for protecting my son,” his mother wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
“He was very lucky, God protected him. He was shot in the chest but the bullet exited through his back, thank God it spared his vital organs.”
Pearsall was placed on the reserve/non-football injured list on Monday.
He is expected to return for the team's Game 5 against the Cardinals on Oct. 6.
Pearsall was the 49ers' first-round pick (31st overall) in the June draft and played three years at Arizona State University and two years at the University of Florida.
He recorded 965 yards receiving and six touchdowns for the Gators in his senior season.
The rookie was reportedly in the 49ers' weight room on Monday, just two days after the frightening encounter.
49ers general manager John Lynch expects Pearsall to be on the field in 2024 and said it's “nothing short of miraculous” that he's continued to perform well after the incident.
“Yeah, he's done phenomenally well,” Lynch said Tuesday when asked if Peirsol could play for the 49ers this season.
“This is uncharted territory. We don't deal with issues like this every day.”
