Quick Acting Police Officer Came To Aid Of Ricky Pearsall And Prayed

Blood was leaking out of a gunshot wound to Ricky Pearsall's chest when San Francisco police department Sgt. Joelle Harrell first saw the San Francisco 49ers receiver slumped near a mailbox over the weekend.

"There was so much blood," Harrell told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 2: Ricky Pearsall #WO23 of Florida participates in a drill during the NFL Combine at the Lucas Oil Stadium on March 2, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

She had heard gunfire and ran from her post in Union Square to see a man she didn't recognize in obvious distress. 

Harrell applied pressure on the entrance and exit wounds, questioned Pearsall about what had happened, got a basic description of his attacker, called for help, and then tried to encourage the clearly anxious and scared man clinging to life.

That's when the cop began to pray for Pearsall.

"He listened, and that's what I wanted him to do," Harrell told the Chronicle. 

SANTA CLARA, CA - JULY 31: Ricky Pearsall #14 of the San Francisco 49ers during training camp at SAP Performance Facility on July 31, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

Officer Tells Pearsall Not Your Time

Harrell could sense Pearsall was tense. Anxious. He asked her if he was going to die.

It's not your time, Harrell said she responded.

"You're strong," Harrell told him. "Just focus on the breathing."

Harrell and other first responders obviously helped save Pearsall, who was taken to the hospital, treated and eventually released.

Reports of the incident say Harrell instructed another responding officer to call for an ambulance as she pressed Pearsall's shirt into the wound in his chest and her cap into the exit wound on his back.

Pearsall Family Asked For Prayer

But the Pearsall family obviously believes God also intervened. 

"I want to thank GOD for protecting my baby boy," Erin Pearsall, the player's mother, wrote on Facebook hours after the attack.

"He is extremely lucky, GOD shielded him. He was shot in the chest and it exited out his back. Thanks be to GOD it missed his vital organs. He is in good spirits right now."

Erin Pearsall asked readers to continue praying for Pearsall before eventually deleting the post.

The 49ers on Monday placed Pearsall on the Reserve/Non-Football injury list which means he must miss the first four games of the season at minimum. The club is nonetheless grateful Pearsall, their first-round draft pick, is in recovery.

"He and his family, along with the entire San Francisco 49ers organization, would like to thank the San Francisco Police Department, emergency medical services, doctors and staff at San Francisco General Hospital," the team said in a statement.

Everyone might also want to thank God.