A 17-year-old boy was charged Tuesday with attempted murder in the shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
The suspect has not been publicly identified because he is a juvenile. His arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco.
“Any determination regarding transfer of a juvenile case to adult court would require a fitness hearing,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement.
In addition to attempted murder, the teenager was charged with assault with a firearm and attempted second-degree robbery. Jenkins said the attempted murder charge meant there was a chance the case would be moved to adult court, according to local CBS affiliate KPIX.
Pearsall, 23, was released from the hospital on Sunday, one day after he was shot. The rookie was shopping for luggage near San Francisco’s Union Square when the teenager attempted to mug him, according to investigators.
San Francisco police said the suspect was focused on Pearsall’s expensive watch and did not know he was an NFL player, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Pearsall struggled with the teen, who was shot in the arm during the altercation. Pearsall was shot through the chest but avoided life-threatening injuries.
“By the grace of God, Ricky Pearsall is here with the team and doing really well,” 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters on Tuesday. “He’s doing remarkably, so much better today than he was yesterday. Really, really miraculous.”
Pearsall was expected to play a key role in the 49ers’ offense before Saturday’s shooting. He was placed on the non-football injury list and will miss at least the first four games of the season.