The 17-year old suspect from Tracy accused of shooting 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall in San Francisco will soon learn what charges he faces as Pearsall recovers at home from a gunshot wound to his chest.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Tuesday or Wednesday is expected to announce charges against the teenager and whether or not he’ll be tried as an adult. Pearsall, meanwhile, will miss at least four weeks of his first NFL season.
One of the first San Francisco police officers to reach Pearsall Saturday after he was shot during an attempted robbery said she immediately focused on keeping him calm and assured him he’d survive.
Sgt. Joelle Harrell was in the Union Square area talking to a store security guard when she heard gunfire.
“I was standing facing Geary,” she said. “I heard the [clap, clap], and the noise here echoes.”
Harrell said it took her a second to realize what happened. Then she quickly made her way toward the sound with another officer.
She spotted Pearsall and noticed that he was bleeding from his head and his chest.
“I used my strong hand to cover it and used my other hand to cover the other wound,” she said. “It was causing a lot of bleeding. I didn’t want it to bother him. I wanted him to be calm.”
Within seconds, she began trying to calm Pearsall and ask him for a description of the attempted robber. She said she then called for backup and broadcast the suspect’s description over police radio.
Taking time to reflect Monday, Harrell said she still gets emotional when she describes what Pearsall told her after she got off the radio.
“He looks at me and he’s like, ‘Am I gonna die?’ I’m just like, ‘No,’” Harrell said. “I take off my hat because I wanted to make eye contact with him. I wanted him to hear me. I said to him, ‘Listen, look at me. I know you don’t know me, but I want you to trust me, it’s not your time.’”
Pearsall was shot in the chest but was able to walk to a stretcher before being rushed to the hospital. He was released on Sunday.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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