My first reaction to the news that 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall had been shot during a robbery attempt in Union Square on Saturday afternoon was near-incredulity.
Not that it happened, but that an NFL player had been assaulted at a San Francisco landmark.
As the details became known — broad daylight, 17-year-old suspected as the shooter, Pearsall fights back, Pearsall survives — it seemed even more incredible.
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But let’s pretend that this shooting didn’t happen in Union Square.
This kind of shooting is just another day at the gun violence office outside of Union Square, which is a tragedy unto itself. What’s more tragic is that we’ve all gotten used to these incidents, whether some lunatic kills 25 kids in an elementary school or takes a shot at a presidential candidate.
Given the high public profile of a 49ers wide receiver, yes, everyone in the Bay Area is shocked that Union Square is the venue, and not some boarding house room or a street corner a few miles south of San Francisco’s living room.
It’s almost like gun violence and our reaction to it is zoned. Union Square: OMG! Oakland: Whatev.
As a contributor to the Chronicle, I am actually a resident of Sacramento. I live in a lovely close-in neighborhood called Land Park. I’m 10 minutes from Midtown, if you’re familiar with the area.
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