Mohammed Nuru arrested in alleged robbery attempt.

Mohammed Nuru, the former director of San Francisco Public Works at the center of a federal corruption case, was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery after a report that he brandished a knife at a person Wednesday morning, according to San Francisco police.

At about 11:18 a.m., San Francisco police officers from Bayview Station responded to the 1000 block of Marin Street on a report of a person with a knife, police officials said in an email.

The victim told officers he was approached by a man who produced a knife and demanded his property. The victim said he left the area and contacted authorities.

A lawenforcement source with knowledge of the investigation told The Chronicle that the incident happened at a food bank, and that the victim initially reported the suspect was potentially a mentally disturbed person. The victim said the suspect pulled the knife on him for no apparent reason.

Police said officers located Nuru and took him into custody. He was booked into the San Francisco County Jail Wednesday afternoon on a single count of attempted seconddegree robbery, according to jail records. The police department’s robbery unit is handling the investigation.

San Francisco police officials said all details are preliminary and that police would provide updates as they become available.

Nuru’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

Nuru spent time working at a food bank warehouse follow

ing his February 2020 resignation in the wake of the corruption scandal.

Federal officials arrested and charged Nuru with fraud early last year, touching off a widereaching corruption scandal that has embroiled multiple department heads in City Hall. Nuru’s federal case is still proceeding through the courts.