Former dentist arrested in Sunset fatal shooting of tenant, police say
A before-dawn shooting on 46th Avenue left Outer Sunset resident Eric Bigone dead, and prosecutors say his landlord later lured him outside by torching his car.
A fatal shooting before dawn on 46th Avenue turned a quiet Outer Sunset block near Ulloa Street into the focus of a murder case now centered on Eric Bigone, a 58-year-old neighborhood resident. San Francisco police said officers found Bigone around 5:20 a.m. on May 17 suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the residential area about two blocks from Ocean Beach and the San Francisco Zoo.
Bigone was later identified by the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office. Police initially released little detail, but investigators soon arrested a 68-year-old man in the case and booked him on suspicion of murder. The suspect was later identified as Philippe Henri Chagniot, a former San Francisco dentist and Bigone’s landlord, who was arrested Wednesday at his home.
Court allegations have added a disturbing layer to the shooting. Prosecutors say Chagniot lured Bigone outside by setting fire to his car before opening fire with a silenced firearm. Chagniot has been charged with murder and additional firearm-related counts, including possession of a silencer, and faces life in prison if convicted. Investigators also recovered evidence at Chagniot’s home.
The killing has shaken the Outer Sunset, a heavily residential part of San Francisco shaped by single-family homes, school routes and steady foot traffic to the beach. Bigone’s death also stands out in a city where homicides remain relatively rare. San Francisco recorded 28 homicides in 2025, the lowest total since 1954, according to police figures presented at a year-end recap. That backdrop has only sharpened attention on how a dispute between landlord and tenant could end in a pre-dawn killing on a block many residents would expect to feel ordinary and safe.
The case arrives as city leaders continue to emphasize public safety across San Francisco, with the Police Department now under Chief Derrick Lew and Mayor Daniel Lurie. For the Sunset, the shooting has become a reminder that even in a neighborhood better known for fog, park access and family homes than for violence, a single block can suddenly become the scene of a homicide that leaves neighbors asking how a feud escalated so far, so fast.
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