SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- While declining to give details on what happened outside a San Francisco nightclub in the wee hours of Monday morning, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster acknowledged Wednesday that he and fellow linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong escaped an armed-robbery attempt.
"It was a scary moment for my family and for the organization," Foster said. "I'm truly sorry to [whoever] was concerned, and the organization itself, and the fans that I concerned them. You live and you learn; just watch your surroundings."
Sgt. Michael Andraychak of the San Francisco Police Department confirmed Wednesday night that there is an ongoing investigation into what took place at around 2 a.m. Monday on the 300 block of Post Street in San Francisco.
Because the investigation is active, the department can't legally release the police report or name the victims, but Andraychak was able to offer a general synopsis of what the victims of the attempted robbery reported to police on Monday morning.
According to that synopsis, there were four male victims: a 23-year-old from San Jose, California (believed to be Foster); a 29-year-old from Vacaville, California; and a 26-year-old (believed to be Armstrong) and 27-year-old, both of whom declined to give their address.
The first two victims were walking on a sidewalk approaching a parked car when another vehicle, described as a gray or silver SUV, stopped, and two suspects got out of the car. According to the victims' account, each of the suspects had a gun, one described as a pistol and the other resembling an assault rifle.
At that point, the 23-year-old victim ran in the opposite direction, and the 29-year-old victim hid behind a parked car, and the suspects got back in the SUV and drove away. Police were called to the scene soon after and searched the area for the suspects.
No suspects had been taken into custody as of Wednesday evening.
Since none of the four victims reported any loss of property, the investigation is being categorized as an attempted robbery.
"We're safe," Foster said. "I'm blessed to be safe. I hope you appreciate -- I don't want to get in no detail, I'm just happy me and Ray and the rest of the people are safe."
The 49ers released a statement on Tuesday night acknowledging the reports of the attempted robbery and making it clear that Foster and Armstrong have been cooperating and would continue to cooperate in any further investigation. MissionLocal.org first reported the incident and that Foster and Armstrong were involved.
Foster said Wednesday that he hadn't heard anything further from the police but that he and Armstrong did have a conversation with Niners coach Kyle Shanahan about the incident.
"They told me about it, told me everything that happened," Shanahan said. "It's just a reminder on how careful you've got to be. Definitely glad they got out of it OK. Sounded pretty dangerous, something pretty scary -- a situation I haven't been in like that before. I know they were pretty shook up from it and worried. I'm just really glad they're all right."
Foster and Armstrong were at Love and Propaganda nightclub in the Union Square area of San Francisco before the attempted robbery, according to the MissionLocal.org report.
Shanahan said Wednesday that he was not bothered by his players being out at that time -- hours after the team had returned from its game at the Washington Redskins on Sunday.
Shanahan said it's common practice for players to treat Sunday nights after games the same as many people would treat a Friday night. The Niners don't have meetings on Monday until 1 p.m., and those meetings are for film review. Players have the day off on Tuesday.
"I don't think everyone totally knows our exact lifestyle," Shanahan said. "Everyone handles their free time differently. You've got to handle it right. When you're in those situations, you've got to be careful. Hopefully, they learn from being in that situation. But I also want to keep perspective that when guys do decide to have a night out and they don't have a big thing the next day, I want them to handle themselves right, protect our team.
"But I'm not going to get mad at a guy for putting in the work all week, those guys grinding, and then deciding to go out and do what most people do at their age at that time. I know the report was at 2, which is a little bit after when it happened. I also know that's about the time when those bars close. You want guys to stay out of trouble and not put themselves in that situation. I think I'd feel a lot differently if that was a Thursday night, if it was a different night in the week. Just to be honest with you guys, Sunday is a little different schedule for people in the NFL."
A first-round pick in April's draft, Foster is working his way back from a high ankle sprain. Shanahan said Wednesday he's "optimistic" that Foster will be able to play in Sunday's home game against the Dallas Cowboys. Armstrong has been starting at weakside linebacker in Foster's absence. When Foster returns, he is expected to move to middle linebacker, where he would start alongside Armstrong.