John Lynch described the scary situation after he heard 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall had been shot in an attempted armed robbery near Union Square in San Francisco on Saturday.
Speaking to the media Tuesday for the first time since the shooting, the 49ers general manager/president of football operations was asked about the incident's impact on himself and the entire organization.
“It was very sobering,” Lynch said. “You never love to get any call with regards to your players where they're in danger or peril.”
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Lynch then described the difficult ride to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center to check on the rookie wide receiver.
“The earliest calls that I received were extremely scary: ‘We believe Ricky's been shot in the chest,’ and that outcome is not usually a good one,” Lynch told reporters. “So, it was a tough Saturday. It was a tough ride down to San Francisco General, and I’m just so so grateful that everything worked out the way it did.”
Pearsall miraculously escaped Saturday's encounter without any serious injuries. After a stay in the hospital, the rookie wideout was released Sunday and returned to the team facility on Monday, just two days after the shooting.
San Francisco 49ers
It is unclear when Pearsall will be able to suit up for the team as San Francisco placed him on the reserve/non-football injury list, so he will be inactive for at least the first four games of the 2024 NFL season.
Given the harrowing nature of what occurred on Saturday, Lynch and the 49ers are just relieved that Pearsall escaped serious harm and eventually will be able to return to the football field.