SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥 The daylight shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall in an upscale shopping district has once again put the city's safety in the national spotlight weeks before voters choose a new mayor.
Mayor London Breed, who is running for reelection, has taken a more aggressive approach against open-air drug dealing and clearing homeless encampments from city streets as she attempts to convince voters that things have improved under her administration. But she acknowledged that the 鈥渢errible and rare鈥 attack during an attempted robbery against Pearsall could set back her achievements.
鈥淲e are glad that the victim will be OK. But this incident does set us back from all the hard work that we鈥檝e done in order to make significant changes in public safety in San Francisco,鈥 Breed said at a news conference over the holiday weekend.
, where property crimes are more common than violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and assault. Breed highlighted that but said, 鈥淭he data goes out the window sometimes when something happens like this.鈥
Pearsall, 23, was walking alone to his car shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday after shopping at luxury stores in Union Square when a teenage suspect spotted the NFL player 鈥渇or his expensive watch,鈥 San Francisco Police Sgt. Frank Harrell told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Pearsall was seen earlier Saturday wearing a Rolex Datejust, which can sell for about $12,000, two watch experts told the newspaper.
A struggle ensued and gunfire from the 17-year-old suspect鈥檚 gun struck both Pearsall and the teenager, who was shot in the arm, police said.
The 49er rookie was shot through the chest at close range, officials said. His mother, Erin Pearsall, posted on social media that the bullet went through the right side of her son鈥檚 chest and out his back without striking any vital organs.
The teenager was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic weapon and attempted second-degree robbery, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said.
State law prevents Jenkins from charging a minor as an adult. But she said that if her investigation reveals the teenage suspect should be tried in adult court, she would request a judge to make a ruling on transferring the case, Jenkins said. She added that it was too early for her to make that determination.
鈥淭here will be accountability when people commit crimes, most certainly serious crimes of this nature, regardless of the status of the victim,鈥 Jenkins said.
Breed, a centrist Democrat, is in a tough reelection battle and faces this year who say her administration has failed to deal with drug crimes, vandalism and theft. At Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 request, California 春色直播 Guard lawyers and case analysts have been working fentanyl trafficking cases in San Francisco over the past year with the aim of dismantling them.
Breed鈥檚 main contender, Mark Farrell, a former interim San Francisco mayor and former city supervisor, took to social media shortly after the attack on Pearsall to criticize Breed. Farrell is running a campaign focused on public safety 鈥 a top concern among San Francisco voters 鈥 and says he will clear all large tent encampments and beef up police staffing.
鈥淓nough is enough,鈥 Farrell posted on the social platform X. 鈥淚f we want public safety in San Francisco, then we need change in City Hall.鈥
Other critics pointed out the case on social media and said it showed people need to watch what they wear when walking around the city. In Los Angeles, they could become targets for thieves after a long string of brazen smash-and-grab thefts and robberies of people wearing expensive watches or jewelry in the Los Angeles region.
The response to the attack against Pearsall echoed that seen after the killing last year of Cash App founder Bob Lee, whose fatal stabbing shocked the tech industry. Lee鈥檚 death further enflamed , with top tech entrepreneurs posting about the killing on social media.
Nima Momeni, a tech consultant who knew Lee, was charged in his killing and is awaiting trial.
Pearsall was released Sunday from the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. He was back at the team facility on Monday, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said Tuesday. The Niners placed Pearsall on the giving him time to recover from the shooting and a shoulder injury that had limited him all summer, Lynch said.
The condition of the suspect, who was transported to the same hospital, has not been disclosed. The young male suspect is a resident of Tracy, a city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of San Francisco, police said.
He was arrested about a block away from where he allegedly confronted Pearsall.
Lynch thanked San Francisco Sgt. Joelle Harrell, who is married to Sgt. Frank Harrell, and was the first officer on the scene after she heard gunshots and rushed to the area. She told reporters she gave Pearsall immediate treatment and kept him calm.
She used Pearsall鈥檚 shirt to create pressure on his chest wound and her baseball cap to press against the bullet's exit wound in his back. After Pearsall asked her if he was going to die, she told him to stay calm.
Joelle Harrell, a devout Catholic, told him no, it wasn't his time and she started praying.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e strong,鈥 she told the Chronicle she kept telling him. 鈥淛ust focus on the breathing.鈥
鈥淎nd he listened,鈥 Harrell said. 鈥淗e calmed down, and that鈥檚 what I wanted him to do.鈥
Union Square, located along the route of one of the city鈥檚 iconic cable cars, is known for its luxury shops, fine and casual restaurants, and numerous hotels. The downtown neighborhood was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic when many storefronts emptied.
More officers were deployed to the area after a series of robberies by mobs of people who smashed store windows and glass counters to steal luxury items made national headlines.
After many challenges, the shopping district has been undergoing a revival and this summer has been packed with tourists and local families, said Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance.
The neighborhood, she said, is one of the safest in San Francisco and pointed out that the extra police presence led to the quick response by the officers who helped Pearsall and arrested the suspect.
鈥淪an Francisco is not getting a fair shake,鈥 Rodriguez said. 鈥淯nfortunately, robberies are happening all over the world, probably every minute, but they鈥檙e not making headline news because it鈥檚 not election season.鈥
