School dad’s alleged killer charged with murder after manhunt

Police have made an arrest in Wednesday’s stabbing death of a west-side dad who was walking with his son after picking him up from school.

San Francisco Police Department investigators caught the alleged killer, Daniel Patrick Rodriguez Jr., Friday at around 8:30 a.m. in Tuolumne County after a statewide alert was issued following a citywide manhunt, according to Taraval Station Captain Clayton Harmston.

Rodriguez will be arraigned Tuesday on charges of murder and child endangerment, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Monday.

Jenkins said her office will seek to keep Rodriguez in custody as the case continues, as she believes he is a danger to the community.

“We want to make sure we get justice for this entire family and quite honestly, this entire community,” Jenkins said.

Officers responded Wednesday to the stabbing at 4:38 p.m. near the intersection of Junipero Serra Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, across the street from Commodore Sloat Elementary School.

Harmston said the victim and suspect did not know each other, but an altercation took place between them. The victim was with his son. Bystanders tried to intervene, but Rodriguez stabbed the victim and fled. “This was a random act,” Harmston said.

Harmston told The Standard that officers used neighbors’ home surveillance systems to track Rodriguez after the stabbing. Cops saw the 42-year-old get into a vehicle and flee.

Separately, cops raided his home on idyllic Darien Way near Kenwood Way and found evidence of the attack, Harmston said.

The victim, Robert Paul Byrd II, 35, died from his injuries at a hospital, authorities said late Thursday.

Byrd was devoted to his 8-year-old son, according to his father, Robert Byrd. He worked part-time at San Francisco General Hospital.

“I’m just here thinking and hurting over my baby, my son,” Robert Byrd said through tears. “He was an upstanding citizen. He was a good father to his son. He was a good son to me. He was my wife’s sidekick.”

Byrd did not know of any connection between his son and the suspect.

“May God punish the man who did this to my son,” he said.

Commodore Sloat staff told parents Thursday night that the victim had a child enrolled in the school.

“We have confirmed that the individual was a parent in our school community, and we are deeply saddened to share that they have passed away,” the message said.

Harmston said Rodriguez had no connection to the school.

“His greatest love was his son, who was holding his hand in the moments before this tragedy occurred,” a GoFundMe (opens in new tab) launched Saturday said.

Mayor Daniel Lurie called the killing “tragic” and “horrific” during a Friday press conference. Lurie lauded police for their use of technology, saying it helped them find and arrest the suspect in less than 48 hours.

“As your mayor, public safety is the highest priority. Families must feel safe walking their kids to and from school,” he said.

Interim SFPD Chief Paul Yep said 60 officers worked to locate and arrest Rodriguez. Yep maintained that San Francisco is a safe city, pointing to a drop in crime. The homicide rate in 2024 was the lowest since 1960, he said.

Byrd’s death is the city’s 17th homicide of 2025, compared with 24 at this point last year, according to the police data (opens in new tab).

SF Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su called the killing a “horrific, horrific tragedy that SFUSD has never experienced on this level.” The school is expected to lift heightened safety protocols after Friday, she said.

“Our schools are safer havens where our students can learn, play, and thrive,” she said. “Safety is our No. 1 priority.”