SFPD arrests suspect in fatal stabbing of father in front of child near elementary school

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- After a nearly 48-hour manhunt, the San Francisco Police Department made an arrest in the fatal stabbing of a father that was walking with his son on Wednesday after school pickup

"The message is clear: if you commit a crime -- especially a violent crime -- we will find you, and we will arrest you," said Mayor Daniel Lurie.

The victim has been identified as 35-year-old Robert Paul Byrd II. The suspect is a resident who lived nearby. SFPD shed light into the moments leading to the attack.

"The homicide was horrific. A father who was walking across the street with his son was fatally stabbed in the crosswalk after getting into an altercation with the suspect," said SFPD Interim Chief Paul Yep.

Byrd had just picked up his 8-year-old son from Commodore Sloat Elementary School. The father was holding his son's hand when he was stabbed.

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"There were words that were exchanged, and other people heard the commotion and what was happening, and the perpetrator stabbed the victim and ran away," said Supervisor Myrna Melgar.

We met with Melgar at the scene. This is her district. She said the community is now at ease following the arrest.

"I'm very relieved and grateful for all of the resources that were deployed by the San Francisco Police Department," Melgar said.

Residents were glad to see police respond quickly.

"They actually swarm the place. There were police cars all over the place. They were clearly going to get it," said Trish Lethin, a West Portal resident

SFPD's Commander of the Investigation's Unit, Thomas Macguire, said they deployed 60 San Francisco police officers, leading them to track down the suspect five hours away.

"Many of our officers haven't slept in a couple days. They worked around the clock. With community cooperation and with utilizations of technology and a major deployment of our police personnel, we were able to follow leads that led us to Tuolumne County, and we made a safe arrest this morning," Macguire said.

They used automated license plate readers, surveillance cameras, a drone, and leads from witnesses to eventually identify the suspect and his whereabouts, Yep said.

"Immediately after this incident occurred, our officers began a tireless investigation to identify and apprehend the suspect," Yep said. "We were relentless."

Lurie and Yep made clear that there is no longer an imminent threat to the public.

Officers did not describe what led up to the stabbing or provide a potential motive. They did not specify whether the victim and the suspect had a previous relationship.

"We're not going to share certain details at this time," said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. "This is still a very fresh investigation."

San Francisco's District Attorney Brooke Jenkins confirmed this was not a random act of violence.

"My homicide unit will work with SFPD to conduct further investigation as we can over the next 48 to 72 hours that we have in order to make a charging decision," Jenkins said.

Jenkins said her office will announce charges after thoroughly reviewing the case.
"We do ask for your patience in allowing us to review all of the evidence that still needs to be collected," she said. "We do still have outstanding witness interviews that need to happen so that we can make a comprehensive decision about what to do going forward."

The school district said they are in contact with the family.

"We have been in regular conversations with the mom and made sure we are allocating as many resources as possible that is appropriate to mom and to the student," said Maria Su, SFUSD Superintendent.

Residents in the community said they were shaken by this tragedy.

"We didn't know if it was random or targeted. It's terrible. Something like this shouldn't happen anywhere in the city," said Marty Monfirdini, a West Portal resident.

"A kid shouldn't lose his father but then to have to see him die or be with him when he is dying that is not okay," Lethin said.

On social media, the victim's dad said his son died holding the 8-year-old's hand.

The Commodore Sloat Elementary School Parents' Club organization set up on GoFundMe to help with Byrd's funeral costs. If you would like to help, click here.

Bay City News contributed to this report.