Champion cyclist Ethan Boyes was killed and former fire commissioner Don Carmignani was attacked this week in San Francisco, marking two more recent acts of violence against prominent individuals in the city alongside the death of entrepreneur Bob Lee in a stabbing.
Lee, who founded digital payments service CashApp and was the chief product officer of cryptocurrency startup MobileCoin upon his death, was visiting downtown San Francisco when he was stabbed in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The murder of the prominent businessman drew renewed attention toward crime and homelessness in San Francisco.
Michelle Tandler, the founder of Growth Path Labs and Thumbtack, as well as a frequent critic of leadership in San Francisco, noted on social media that Boyes was also killed and Carmignani was likewise attacked in the last few days.
Boyes was riding his bike on Tuesday afternoon when a car struck him on Arguello Boulevard after swerving across the center line. Police have not revealed whether the driver, who sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, was taken into custody or had been abusing drugs or alcohol.
Boyes was a USA Cycling Masters Track national champion in both 2018 and 2019; he held the national record for the 500-meter track time trial flying start.
“Ethan was a very experienced cyclist and well regarded in the cyclist community,” Shaana Rahman, a spokesperson for the family, said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. “This is a pretty devastating loss for the family and for the San Francisco cycling community.”
Carmignani was attacked by a group of homeless people in front of his mother’s home at Laguna and Chestnut Street on Wednesday evening; one of the individuals beat the former fire commissioner with a pipe, leaving him with a fractured skull and other severe injuries. Carmignani was also slashed in the face with a knife.
Garret Doty, a 24-year-old, was later arrested in connection to the incident and booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and battery causing serious injury.
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“Our hearts go out to him and his family,” San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott remarked in a statement to CBS Bay Area. “He’s expected to survive his injuries which is good news. But these types of brutal attacks and these types of brazen attacks, these are the kinds of things that have people anxious.”
The number of arrests in San Francisco has fallen significantly over the past three years amid calls from prominent officials, including San Francisco Democratic Mayor London Breed, to defund law enforcement. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk and former UFC champion Jake Shields were among the well-known individuals who criticized San Francisco leadership over the death of Lee after news broke of his demise.
“San Francisco recently has a feeling of lawlessness I have never seen anywhere else. I see people doing drugs amidst piles of trash all over town. Speeding cars race recklessly through the city. Traffic stops have been discouraged, from what I understand,” Tandler added on social media. “In certain neighborhoods, any visible items can lure in a thief. Almost everywhere I walk I am avoiding trash and glass. It is not like this in other cities.”