San Francisco is like the Walking Dead – more dangerous than Colombia or Brazil, says Google employee

San Francisco looks like the zombie apocalypse-set world of TV show The Walking Dead, a Google employee has warned.

Sam Padilla, who grew up in Brazil and Colombia, said the ‘sketchy’ California city ‘doesn’t compare’ to the notoriously-dangerous south American countries.

The tech worker from Austin was left stunned by his visit to the Bay Area and took to X to post his thoughts.

‘Holy f****** sh**. I just walked from Soma to Hayes Valley through Market St and easily sketchiest walk of my life.

‘Felt like a scene straight out of the walking dead. Sad. I walked by a corner where there were easily 100 people, many visibly high. Probably a shelter.’

The tech worker from Austin was left stunned by his visit to the Bay Area, which is in the grip of a drugs crisis. Pictured: Homeless people using drugs in the city in 2022

The shocked Google employee posted his thoughts about the state of San Francisco to X

 San Francisco has been plunged into crisis in recent years with skyrocketing levels of homelessness and addiction.

Last year was the deadliest year on record for drug deaths largely thanks to the proliferation of fentanyl.

Progressive ‘harm reduction’ policies which don’t penalize hard drug use have been blamed for worsening the crisis.  

Padilla stated that the area ‘felt close if not worse than the freaking calle del cartucho in Bogota’. 

The notoriously dangerous area was located in one of the most poverty-stricken parts of the city and was known for drug trafficking.

Officials have struggled to get a grip on the situation in San Francisco, with soaring crime rates forcing many household names to shut up shop in the city.

On Wednesday American Eagle announced it had become the latest victim of the lawlessness pervading the Downtown area.

The retailer is closing its doors at the former Westfield San Francisco Centre over the summer, citing more 100 significant security incidents that allegedly occurred between May 2020 and May 2023.

The once-thriving mall is now a shell of its former self, with occupancy at just 25 percent at the start of the year.

Padilla described San Francisco as ‘sketchy’ and suggested he would not be keen to go back

A homeless encampment below a freeway overpass in San Francisco on April 22, 2024

Padilla, who grew up in Brazil and Colombia, said the ‘sketchy’ California city ‘doesn’t compare’ to the south American countries. Pictured: Homeless encampment in April, 2024

A DailyMail.com investigation revealed how the mall had been commandeered by unhoused people and had seen drug use and crime soar. 

Padilla said he was left further perturbed by spotting one of the San Francisco’s controversial self-driving cars. 

‘Right then, an unoccupied FSD Waymo car drove by. It was the first time I saw one without a human at the wheel. And it just hit me. San Francisco is the epitome of a tech dystopia.’

The driverless vehicles have come under their fair share of criticism owing to several concerning safety incidents.

In February, Waymo issued a software recall after two of its vehicles collided with a tow truck in Arizona in December. 

Mayor London Breed has previously insisted that her city is a ‘punching bag’ and undeserving of the headlines it has generated.

However, the gravity of the situation has seen the progressive lawmaker throw her support behind aggressive measures to tackle the crisis.

Breed is pushing for single adults to be screened for drug addiction before receiving welfare benefits amid the city’s spiraling fentanyl crisis.

He likened the chaos to the scenes on Cartucho Street in Bogota, previously one of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. Pictured: A Colombian Army soldier patrols through Cartucho Street in Bogota Saturday, May 30, 1998

Last year was the deadliest year on record for drug deaths largely thanks to the proliferation of fentanyl

Padilla was also left unnerved by the driverless Waymo cars which operate in the city

Breed is backing a pair of ‘aggressive’ public safety proposals that would require roughly 9,000 single adults on welfare to be screened and treated for illegal drug addiction or else lose their cash assistance.

She is also pushing to give police more crime-fighting powers, such as the use of drones and surveillance cameras.

However, her  opponents have slammed the policies, saying ‘there are more ethical ways to address the issue aside from punitive measures’.