SAN FRANCISCO — A 17-year-old high school student is charged with attempted murder in the weekend daytime shooting of the San Francisco 49ers rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall appeared before the juvenile court on Wednesday and said through his lawyer that he regretted what happened.
The thin teenager, wearing a green sweater and green pants, looked straight at the judge during the hearing and did not turn to face his parents, who were also in the room.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins accused the teenager of attempted murder on Tuesdayassault with a semi-automatic weapon and attempted second-degree robbery. On Wednesday, her office added several weapons-related charges.
Her office has not yet decided whether to try the minor as an adult, saying they need time to investigate further and, if appropriate, petition the court to transfer the case to adult court. California law prohibits prosecutors from charging a minor as an adult without judicial approval.
The teen’s attorney, Deputy District Attorney Bob Dunlap, told reporters after the hearing that he deeply regrets what happened.
“He’s really, really sorry that this happened, as is his family, and I can say on behalf of them, and on my own behalf, our thoughts go out to the Pearsall family and Mr. Pearsall himself. So there’s real, real remorse in that regard,” Dunlap said. “He’s a young boy.”
A probation officer recommended that the teen be kept in custody and transferred to his home county of San Joaquin, where he has another case pending. But Superior Court Judge Roger C. Chan said the teen will remain in San Francisco custody.
Family members of both the teen and Pearsall were in the room Wednesday, Chan said.
The daylight shooting of a professional athlete in an upscale downtown shopping district Saturday thrust the national spotlight back onto a city grappling with brazen shoplifting, empty storefronts and attacks on Asian American seniors. Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, is in a tight re-election battle in November.
Pearsall, 23, was walking alone to his car shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday after shopping at high-end stores in Union Square when the suspect allegedly noticed the NFL player wearing a Rolex watch. A struggle ensued and gunfire from the suspect’s firearm struck both Pearsall and the teen, who was shot in the arm, 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 went through the right side of her son’s chest and exited his back without hitting any vital organs.
Pearsall was discharged from San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Sunday.
He was back at the team facility Monday, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said Tuesday. The Niners placed Pearsall on the list of non-football injuries, Lynch said it gave him time to recover from the shooting and a shoulder injury that had limited him all summer.
The teenager lives in Tracy, a city about 100 miles east of San Francisco.
He was arrested about a block from where he allegedly confronted Pearsall.