The 17-year-old suspected of struggling and shooting San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall on a San Francisco street has been charged with attempted murder.
The San Francisco district attorney filed related murder and firearm possession charges against the teen on Tuesday. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the teen, who has not been identified, will be arraigned Wednesday in juvenile court.
The charges include allegations of personal use and intentional discharge of a firearm, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and attempted second-degree robbery, Jenkins said at a news conference.
Jenkins declined to say whether she would seek to have the defendant transferred to adult court, saying that would require a decision by a judge that “essentially means the juvenile system would not be equipped to rehabilitate that juvenile.”
“My office will review the case more closely to determine whether or not we will request that competency hearing,” he said.
He said the San Francisco Police Department was collecting and reviewing all available surveillance video that could have recorded the shooting during an attempted robbery Saturday in the city's Union Square.
Jenkins also declined to confirm reports that the teen acted alone, saying the investigation would take time.
Pearsall, 23, was treated at San Francisco General Hospital for a gunshot wound to the chest and released Sunday. His mother posted a message on social media saying the bullet exited his back without hitting any vital organs.
The suspect, whom police described as a 17-year-old from Tracy, a city about 70 miles east of San Francisco, was quickly apprehended as he attempted to flee near the scene and taken into custody.
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said Pearsall was walking alone when the gunman confronted him and attempted to rob him at gunpoint. A struggle ensued and the gunman's gun was fired several times, Scott said. Both Pearsall and the suspect were shot.
The suspect was also treated at San Francisco General Hospital, authorities said.
Jenkins said he wanted to send the message that “San Francisco is very different than it was two and a half years ago.”
“I came into office in large part because the city was fed up with too much tolerance for crime,” he said. “So I’ve tried to make it clear that there will be accountability when people commit crimes, especially serious crimes of this nature, regardless of the status of the victim.”
