Shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie draws renewed attention to crime in city as mayor seeks re-election

SAN FRANCISCO — 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 just weeks before the election of a new mayor.

Mayor London Breed, who is running for re-election, is taking a more aggressive approach to cracking down on open-air drug dealing and clearing homeless encampments on city streets to convince voters that things have improved under her administration, but she acknowledged that the “horrific and rare” attack during an attempted robbery at Pearsall could undermine her gains.

“We are glad that the victim is OK. But this incident sets us back from all the hard work we have done to significantly improve public safety in San Francisco,” Breed said at a press conference over the holiday weekend.

Crime has declined in San Francisco. Property crimes are more common there than violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and assault. Breed emphasized this, but said, “When something like this happens, the data is sometimes redundant.”

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 juvenile suspect spotted the NFL player “because of his expensive watch,” San Francisco Police Sergeant Frank Harrell told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Pearsall was seen Saturday morning wearing a Rolex Datejust that could sell for about $12,000, two watch experts told the newspaper.

A struggle ensued, during which both Pearsall and the teenager were hit by shots from the 17-year-old suspect's gun, police said.

The 49ers rookie was shot in the chest at close range, officials said. His mother, Erin Pearsall, posted on social media that the bullet passed through the right side of her son's chest and out his back without hitting any vital organs.

The teenager was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic weapon and attempted second-degree robbery, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said.

State law prohibits Jenkins from charging a minor as an adult. However, she said if her investigation shows the juvenile suspect should be charged in adult court, she would ask a judge to make a decision about transferring the case, Jenkins said. She added it was too early for her to make that decision.

“When people commit crimes, they will be held accountable, certainly serious crimes of this nature, regardless of the status of the victim,” Jenkins said.

Breed, a centrist Democrat, is fighting hard for re-election and faces three serious opponents this year who accuse her administration of failing to combat drug-related crime, vandalism and theft. At the request of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, attorneys and case analysts from the California National Guard have been working on fentanyl trafficking cases in San Francisco over the past year with the goal of solving them.

Breed's primary candidate, Mark Farrell, a former interim mayor of San Francisco and former city councilman, criticized Breed on social media shortly after the attack on Pearsall. Farrell is running a campaign focused on public safety – a top concern of San Francisco voters – and says he will clear all large tent encampments and increase police.

“Enough is enough,” Farrell posted on the social platform X. “If we want public safety in San Francisco, we need change at City Hall.”

Other critics pointed to the case on social media, saying it shows that people should be careful about their clothing when walking around the city. In Los Angeles, police warned people wearing expensive jewelry that they could become targets of thieves, following a long series of brazen burglaries and robberies in the Los Angeles area targeting people wearing expensive watches or jewelry.

The reaction to the attack on Pearsall was similar to that following the killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee last year, whose fatal stabbing shocked the tech industry. Lee's death further inflamed the debate over public safety in San Francisco, and leading tech entrepreneurs posted about the killing on social media.

Nima Momeni, a technical consultant who knew Lee, has been charged with his murder and is awaiting trial.

Pearsall was released from San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Sunday. He was back at the team facility on Monday, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said Tuesday. The Niners placed Pearsall on the non-football injured list to give him time to recover from the shooting and a shoulder injury that limited him all summer, Lynch said.

The condition of the suspect, who was taken to the same hospital, was not disclosed. The young male suspect lives in Tracy, a city about 60 miles east of San Francisco, police said.

He was arrested about a block from where he allegedly confronted Pearsall.

Lynch thanked Sergeant Joelle Harrell of San Francisco, who is married to Sergeant Frank Harrell and was the first officer to arrive on the scene after hearing gunshots and rushing there. She told reporters she immediately treated Pearsall and calmed him down.

She used Pearsall's shirt to apply pressure to his chest wound and her baseball cap to press on the bullet exit wound in his back. When Pearsall asked her if he was going to die, she told him to stay calm.

Joelle Harrell, a devout Catholic, told him, “No, his time has not yet come,” and began to pray.

“You're strong,” she told the Chronicle, which is what she kept telling him. “Just focus on your breathing.”

“And he listened,” Harrell said. “He calmed down, and that's what I wanted from him.”

Located on the route of one of the city's most famous cable cars, Union Square is known for its luxury shops, fine and cozy restaurants, and numerous hotels. The downtown district was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, when many stores were vacated.

After a series of robberies by gangs smashing shop windows and glass counters to steal luxury items made national headlines, additional officers were deployed to the area.

After many challenges, the shopping district is currently experiencing a revival and was full of tourists and local families this summer, said Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance.

She said the neighborhood is one of the safest in San Francisco and noted that the extra police presence led to a quick response by officers who helped Pearsall and arrested the suspect.

“San Francisco is not being treated fairly,” Rodriguez said. “Unfortunately, robberies are happening all over the world, probably every minute, but they don't make the news because there is no election right now.”