The first pictures to emerge did not reflect the gravity of the situation that day near San Francisco’s Union Square.
Ricky Pearsall was shot through the right side of his chest after a struggle during an armed robbery attempt.
Just moments later, Pearsall was captured on cell phone video walking with first responders toward an ambulance.
In the nearly 10 months since that horrifying incident, the 24-year-old 49ers wide receiver has done a lot of thinking about the events that transpired and how good fortune has given him a tremendous opportunity — both on and off the playing field.
“It was so quick,” Pearsall told NBC Sports Bay Area on “49ers Talk.” “I just got in that fight-or-flight mentality, man, like something I’ve never experienced before.
“I think about it 24/7. You know what I mean? There’s not a single day that goes by where I don’t think about it, just because it is something that’s very global. A lot of people know about it, so a lot of people want to know about it. They’re interested about it, so they ask me.”
The suspect, a 17-year-old from Tracy, confronted Pearsall in daylight on Aug 31, 2024. According to the police report, the teen demanded, “Give me everything you got.” Pearsall was wearing a white gold chain and an expensive watch.
As he prepares for his second NFL season, Pearsall has come to realize he will always carry that moment with him and there is no good reason to second-guess his own actions.
“That story is never going to go away, and I’m constantly thinking about it, just from the damage that maybe it took on me,” Pearsall said. “I just think about it and think about maybe some regrets that I have. But I always get into the mindset, like, why do I regret any situation that played out the way it was supposed to play out? God had a plan for me, so there are a lot of positives that can still come out of the darkness that I faced.”
Pearsall remained conscious and lucid after the shooting. An encouraging sign came with the circulation of the video, which showed him slowly walking toward a stretcher.
At that point, it was not known that the bullet fired during the struggle passed from the front of his chest out of his back without striking any bones or vital organs.
Why did he look so calm? Pearsall said the prayers and words of comfort from San Francisco Police Department Sgt. Joelle Harrell were exactly what he needed to put his mind at ease.
“When she came to me, at that moment, I was kind of freaking out,” Pearsall said of Sgt. Harrell. “Blood was everywhere. I was kind of looking at the location of where the bullet was in my chest and, this is worrisome right now, you know? I don’t know what’s about to happen next, and she came over and she was praying for me.
“I feel like a weight just got lifted off my chest. And I just felt grace. I just felt good after that. I think that’s when the video was taken of me walking to the stretcher. And that’s why I look so relaxed. My family’s asking, ‘Why do you look so relaxed?’ Yeah, I look like I’m in pain, but I don’t look like I’m freaking out or yelling at anybody or anything like that. I just felt Joelle’s prayers were heard and that weight was lifted off for sure.”
Pearsall was visiting San Francisco that day after taking part in a memorabilia signing event in Daly City. He was looking forward to a party later that evening at the house of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan to celebrate the formation of the team’s 53-man roster.
Instead, Pearsall spent the night at San Francisco General Hospital and was released after a stay of less than 24 hours.
“As soon as the doctors said I was going to be OK after they saw all the scans, X-rays and stuff like that, it was just like a big relief for me,” Pearsall said. “But before that, I had a sense of calmness to me already, and it was just because (of) Joelle.”
Pearsall already was a high-profile member of the 49ers, as they selected him in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft with the No. 31 overall pick.
His comeback drew significant national — if not, international — attention.
Pearsall did not see any action during the first six games of his rookie season after being placed on the non-football injury list. After regaining his strength and range of motion, he appeared in the 49ers’ final 11 games of the season. He caught 31 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns in his first NFL season.
Pearsall ended the season strong with 14 catches totaling 210 yards and two touchdowns against Detroit and Arizona in the final two games of the season.
“For me, it felt like the season was short, missing the first half of the season,” Pearsall said. “I was ready for more games, especially when I was building momentum like that through the games and getting more comfortable.”
From being shot through the chest to working his way back to going three consecutive games without a reception to finishing on a high note, Pearsall is not quite sure how to process everything that happened over those four challenging months.
“I don’t know what word can describe my rookie year because it was definitely a unique one,” Pearsall said. “But I wouldn’t want it any other way, man. I’m extremely blessed with the position that I’m in here, and I’m super happy that I have the people around me that I do. There’s a great support system here in the Niners, and I’ve made a lot of good relationships and learned a lot of new things about myself.
“And I feel like when you go through some adversity like that, you really get to find out about yourself, and I think that’s something that I definitely did. I got to find out a little bit more about myself. I thought I knew everything about myself because I lived with myself for 24 years. But going through something like that, a tragic event, you get to really learn deep down in those dark times who you are as a person, where your motives are, your purpose, and I think I found that.”
Pearsall exhibits a passion for football. And that was obvious in the hospital room when he began asking doctors when he would be able to return to the field.
He believes the strength and character he exhibited through that life-changing event can, in some way, enable him to draw from a deeper place to become a better football player, too.
“I’ve had several coaches tell me this: The person you are off the field relates to the person you are on the field and vice versa,” Pearsall said. “I think most of my values and morals that I have within myself to this day is because of the game. I can carry those things onto the field too, as well, to my teammates.
“Whatever it is, but as far as not taking the game for granted, making sure I go out there and making sure every single play, every single time I touch your grass, I’m giving it my all, because it could have been taken away from me.”
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