San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall says he forgives teen who shot him

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall said he forgives the teenager who shot him and hopes to talk to him one day.

“I don’t know how he grew up, so I can’t judge him as a man based on one action he did,” the 24-year-old rookie told KNBR in a locker room interview published Monday. “As violent as he is, God forbid he would do that to anyone else.”

“I never want that to happen, so… just being able to forgive him at the end of the day, I have to be able to forgive him to have that weight off my chest,” he said.

Pearsall was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery in San Francisco in August. Police then identified the suspect as a 17-year-old boy.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said at a news conference in August that the suspect approached Pearsall and attempted to commit an armed robbery. There was a struggle and “shots from the suspect’s gun struck Mr. Pearsall and the suspect,” Scott said.

The teenager and Pearsall were hospitalized. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the teen will be charged in juvenile court.

Pearsall, who was drafted by the 49ers in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, told KNBR he would like to talk to the teenager.

“At some point I want to talk to the kid and make sure that, if I can, it impacts them in any way. I think that would be really important. I would be all for it open to doing so.” he said.