NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Islanders 0, Blue Jackets 2 Jets 6, Red Wings 2 Lightning 5, Avalanche 2 Flames 1, Utah Hockey Club 5 Golden Knights 3, Kings 6 Devils 6, Canucks 0
(SAN FRANCISCO) — San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said it’s a “miracle” rookie Ricky Pearsall is recovering days after the team said the player was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery.
“He’s the toughest person I know, just going through a situation like that,” Shanahan told reporters on Thursday, speaking out for the first time on the incident. “We always felt this way watching him on the football field and things like that, but kind of to watch how he handled that situation and watch how he’s been every day since, it shows how special the guy is.”
Pearsall, 23, was seen at practice on Thursday, standing on the field in street clothes holding a football and watching the wide receiver drills, as the team prepared for Monday night’s season opener against the New York Jets.
The athlete “sustained a bullet wound to his chest” during an attempted robbery on Saturday in San Francisco’s Union Square, the San Francisco 49ers said in a statement. He was released from the hospital on Sunday and is expected to make a full recovery.
On Monday, the National Football League added the player to the reserve/non-football injury list, meaning he will miss at least four games of the season, according to ESPN.
Shanahan said the team has been focusing on giving Pearsall space to physically and mentally recover from the ordeal, though he’s eager to get back to playing.
“I think each day the mental part becomes more a big deal, you know, the adrenaline and just surviving that,” the coach said. “Ricky’s saying stuff … like, I still think I could play versus the Jets.”
“It’s just like, dude, what are you talking about?” Shanahan continued.
On the recovery, Shanahan said Pearsall “wants to go a week or so without trying to work up a sweat” and then will start rehab.
A 17-year-old suspect arrested in connection with the shooting was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and attempted second-degree robbery, prosecutors said.
The teen, whose name has not been released, was arraigned at the Youth Guidance Center in San Francisco on Wednesday. Following the court appearance, his attorney told reporters the teen — a senior at Tracy High School — is “very sorry genuinely that this did happen, as is his family.”
“I can say on their behalf, as well as on my own behalf, that our thoughts go out to the Pearsall family and Mr. Pearsall himself,” the attorney, Deputy Public Defender Bob Dunlap, said. “So there’s genuine, genuine remorse in that regard.”
The teen is in custody and will be detained awaiting a trial date.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told reporters Tuesday that her office hasn’t made a determination yet on whether it would request a hearing before a judge to decide whether the teen will be tried as an adult.
Dunlap said he hopes the case does not transfer to adult court, saying his client “certainly should be treated as a juvenile. He is a juvenile.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE San Francisco Giants 10, Baltimore Orioles 0 Oakland Athletics 4, Chicago Cubs 3 Houston Astros 4, San Diego Padres 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE Minnesota Twins 4, Cleveland Guardians 1 Tampa Bay Rays 8, Boston Red Sox 3 Detroit Tigers 3, Kansas City Royals 1 Texas Rangers 13, Toronto Blue Jays 8 Chicago White Sox 0, LA Angels 5 NY Yankees 11, Seattle Mariners 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati Reds 6, Atlanta Braves 5 Miami Marlins 11, LA Dodgers 9 NY Mets 10, Washington Nationals 1 Philadelphia Phillies 5, Milwaukee Brewers 1 St. Louis Cardinals 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 1 Colorado Rockies 8, Arizona Diamondbacks 2
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Minnesota Lynx 78, Connecticut Sun 76 New York Liberty 87, Washington Mystics 71 Atlanta Dream 86, Chicago Sky 70 Las Vegas Aces 85, Seattle Storm 72 Phoenix Mercury 85, Los Angeles Sparks 81
