SAN FRANCISCO – The shooting and attempted robbery of a San Francisco 49ers rookie in broad daylight in downtown San Francisco has placed a renewed spotlight on the city ahead of this fall’s mayoral election.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest during the attempted robbery on Saturday afternoon and was released from the hospital Sunday, the team said on social media. Pearsall is in good spirits, his mother, Erin Pearsall, wrote in a Facebook post shared on X by The Athletic writer David Lombardi. Erin Pearsall wrote the bullet, which entered her son’s chest and exited through his back, missed his vital organs.

The 17-year-old resident from Tracy, California, who attempted to rob Ricky Pearsall — and was also shot during the incident — is in custody, police said. Officers say they believe the suspect acted alone and have no reason to believe Pearsall was targeted because he is a football player. Mayor London Breed, in a news conference outside San Francisco General Hospital on Saturday, framed the shooting as an isolated incident in a city with relatively low violent crime rates. Breed said the shooting was “a terrible and rare incident in Union Square,” where the city has increased police officer coverage in recent years.

“This incident does set us back from all of the hard work that we’ve done in order to make significant changes in public safety in San Francisco,” she said. Despite public concerns over shoplifting, car break-ins and other crime in recent years, Breed and other city officials say their efforts have resulted in an overall drop in crime.

In the first quarter of 2024, property crime decreased by 32% and violent crime is down by 14% – with gun violence, specifically, down 38% – compared to the same time last year, according to the city. The police department’s most recent report shows a 22% drop in violent crime broadly this July compared to last July, though the number of reported gun violence incidents during July was tied at 21 across both years. (CNN)…[+]