How a police officer saved Ricky Pearsall's life after the shooting

A police officer was in critical condition in the moments after Ricky Pearsall was shot.

Pearsall, a rookie wide receiver drafted by the 49ers in the first round this year, was shot in the chest by a 17-year-old during an attempted robbery in San Francisco on Saturday.

Sergeant Joelle Harrell of the San Francisco Police Department was nearby during the incident and ran to the scene after hearing gunshots, she told the San Francisco Chronicle.

She found Pearsall shirtless and covered in blood and quickly took action.

Harrell, a 31-year-old officer, instructed another officer to call an ambulance and began pressing Pearsall's shirt to his front wound while she pressed her cap to his back wound, according to the report.

“I used my hand in front to create suction to keep air from getting into the wound,” Harrell told the outlet.

Harrell also began asking Pearsall questions about the shooter and tried to calm the 23-year-old former Florida Gators star.

Pearsall asked Harrell if he was going to die, she said.

The two began to pray together until the ambulances arrived.

The suspect spotted Pearsall, who had been shopping at Rimowa and Louis Vuitton in the Union Square neighborhood, on his way back to his Tesla wearing an expensive watch.

Pearsall had signed autographs before shopping that afternoon.

According to Pearsall's mother, Erin, after entering his chest, the bullet “exited his back” but missed his vital organs.

Pearsall was released from the hospital on Sunday.

“He and his family, as well as the entire San Francisco 49ers organization, would like to thank the San Francisco Police Department, EMS, doctors and staff at San Francisco General Hospital,” the 49ers said in a statement Sunday.