Shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie renews focus on city crime as mayor seeks re-election

San Francisco Police Department Sergeant Joelle Harrell, right, at the scene of a shooting in Union Square, where San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in San Francisco. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The broad daylight shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in an upscale shopping district has once again put the city’s safety in the national spotlight, just weeks before voters are set to choose a new mayor.

Mayor London Breed, who is seeking re-election, has taken a more aggressive approach to the city’s open drug dealing and street homeless encampments, trying to convince voters that the situation has improved under her administration. But she acknowledged that the “terrible and rare” attack during a robbery attempt on Pearsall could jeopardize her accomplishments.

“We are pleased that the victim is okay. But this incident prevents us from doing all the work we have done to make meaningful changes to public safety in San Francisco,” Breed said at a news conference over the Christmas weekend.

Crime is down in San Francisco, where property crimes are more common than violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and assault. Breed pointed out that fact, but said, “Data is sometimes lost when something like this happens.”

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 suspicious teenager spotted the NFL player “for his expensive watch,” 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 fight broke out and shots fired by the 17-year-old suspect struck Pearsall and the teenager, who was shot in the arm, police said.

The 49ers rookie was hit in the chest by a bullet fired at close range, authorities said. His mother, Erin Pearsall, said on social media that the bullet went through the right side of her son’s chest and exited through 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 prosecuting a juvenile as an adult. But she said if her investigation reveals the teen suspect should be tried in adult court, she would ask a judge to make a decision about transferring the case, Jenkins said. She added that it was too early for her to make that decision.

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

Breed, a centrist Democrat, faces a tough re-election battle this year against three serious opponents who say her administration has failed to address drug crime, vandalism and theft. At the request of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, California National Guard lawyers and analysts have been working on fentanyl trafficking cases in San Francisco over the past year in an effort to dismantle them.

Mark Farrell, a former acting mayor of San Francisco and former city supervisor, criticized Breed on social media shortly after the attack on Pearsall. Farrell is running a campaign focused on public safety — a top concern for San Francisco voters — and says he will eliminate all large tent encampments and increase police numbers.

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

Other critics pointed to the case on social media, saying it showed people need to be careful about what they wear when walking around town. In Los Angeles, police warned people wearing expensive jewelry that they could become targets for thieves after a string of armed robberies and holdups of people wearing expensive watches or jewelry in the Los Angeles area.

The reaction to the attack on Pearsall echoes that seen after last year’s killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee, whose fatal stabbing shocked the tech industry. Lee’s death further inflamed the debate over public safety in San Francisco, with major tech entrepreneurs posting about the killing on social media.

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

Pearsall was released Sunday from San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. He was back at the team’s facility Monday, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said Tuesday. The Niners placed Pearsall on non-football injured reserve, giving 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 man is a resident of Tracy, a city located about 100 kilometers east of San Francisco, police said.

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

Lynch thanked San Francisco Sgt. Joelle Harrell, who is the wife of Sgt. Frank Harrell, and who was the first officer on the scene after hearing gunshots and rushing to the scene. She told reporters she immediately treated Pearsall and kept him calm.

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. 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 began to pray.

“You’re strong,” she told the Chronicle, as she kept telling him. “Just focus on your breathing.”

“And he listened to me,” Harrell said. “He calmed down, and that’s what I wanted him to do.”

Union Square, located along the route of one of the city’s iconic streetcars, is known for its luxury shopping, fine and casual dining, and many hotels. The downtown district was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, when many storefronts emptied.

Extra officers have been deployed to the area after a series of robberies by gangs of people who smashed glass windows and counters to steal luxury items made national headlines.

After many challenges, the shopping district is experiencing a revival and this summer it was filled 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 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’re not in the headlines because it’s not election season.”

San Francisco Police Department officers patrol Union Square in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, the morning after San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery nearby. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

FILE – San Francisco 49ers first-round pick Ricky Pearsall speaks during a football news conference, April 26, 2024, at the team’s facility in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)