A 17-year-old has been arraigned on charges including attempted murder in the Saturday shooting of San Francisco 49ers player Ricky Pearsall.
After appearing in juvenile court Wednesday, the high school senior's attorney told reporters the teen and his family were "genuinely very sorry" for the incident and that their thoughts went out to Pearsall and his family.
"There is genuine, genuine remorse in that regard," Deputy Public Defender Bob Dunlap said, per The Associated Press. "He is a young boy."
On Tuesday, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced the 17-year-old was charged with multiple felony counts in connection to the armed robbery, which left both Pearsall and the teen injured. Those charges include attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and attempted second-degree robbery.
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John Lynch, general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, said Pearsall had just left an autograph signing and was shopping for luggage for the team's road trips when the event occurred in Union Square.
San Francisco Police said the male suspect approached Pearsall just after 3:30 p.m. and attempted to rob the rookie receiver of his Rolex watch. A physical struggle ensued, leaving Pearsall with a close-range gunshot wound to the chest and the subject with a gunshot wound to the arm.
Pearsall was hospitalized overnight and released the next day. His mother posted on social media saying the bullet was through and through, meaning it exited out Pearsall's back and didn't strike any vital organs.
Lynch said on Tuesday that the 23-year-old player was back with the team the day after his release from the hospital and was "doing really well."
"It's nothing short of miraculous he came out of this as good as he did. On behalf of Ricky and his family... he just wants to express, and the team wants to express, our gratitude." Lynch said during a press conference, thanking various first responders who assisted in the event.
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The general manager said Pearsall has been placed on the non-football injury list, which means he'll be out for at least four weeks. To fill the vacancy on their roster, the 49ers said they signed offensive tackle Brandon Parker to a one-year deal, but Lynch said they expect Pearsall to be back on their field soon.
"When we drafted Ricky, we did it for the long term, and Ricky's going to be a fantastic player here," Lynch said. "He's eager. He was disappointed but understood that we put him on that list and what that entails. It's four weeks at least, and we're just going to take this as it comes."
Since the suspect is a minor, Jenkins said there is "very little" to share beyond his charges, which cannot be filed in adult court under California law. But she said Tuesday her office will review the case more closely to determine whether or not there should be a transfer hearing, where a judge would rule on whether the juvenile system would be "equipped to rehabilitate" the minor or if he should be transferred to adult court.
