SAN FRANCISCO — Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App and former chief technology officer of Square, was identified as the man who was found stabbed to death near downtown San Francisco on Tuesday morning, according to his current employer, cryptocurrency startup MobileCoin.
Police said officers responded about 2:35 a.m. to a report of a stabbing in the 300 block of Main Street in the city’s Rincon Hill neighborhood and arrived to find the victim, who was taken to a hospital and died there.
The city medical examiner’s office had not yet identified it as of Tuesday evening, but Lee’s friends and co-workers told KPIX that he was the victim. On Wednesday morning, MobileCoin confirmed the death of 43-year-old Lee, who was the chief product officer of the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency startup.
Lee moved to Miami late last year, but was in town for the MobileCoin leadership summit last week, staying up a few extra nights to see friends.
Police at the scene of a fatal stabbing on the 300 block of Main St. on April 4, 2023 in San Francisco. CBS
MobileCoin CEO Joshua Goldbard said in a statement to KPIX, “Bob was a force of nature.” “He helped birth Android and CashApp into our world. Mobi was his dream: a privacy-protecting wallet for the 21st century. I will miss him every day.”
His father, Rick Lee, who is staying with him, posted about his son on Facebook.
Part of the post read, “Life has been an adventure with two bachelors living together, and I’m so glad we were able to be so close these past years. Bob will give you the shirt off his back.” “He never looked down on anyone and followed a strict no-judgment philosophy. Bobby worked harder than anyone and was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. He loved them all.” Will be remembered by those who knew him.”
On Wednesday, Goldbard posted a lengthy tribute to Lee on his Twitter page and on Mobilcoin’s Mobi app website.
1/thread 🧵
,@crazybob He was an incredible person. It sounds ridiculous to use Bob’s name in the past tense.
I don’t even know where to begin.
— Joshua Goldbard (@ThePBXGuy) April 5, 2023
“Bob was a father, former CTO of Square where he built Cash App and CTO of Mobile Coin. He was a generous decent human being who didn’t deserve to be killed,” wrote Abra CEO Bill Barhayd on Twitter.
MobileCoin CPO Bob Lee MobileCoin
On Twitter Tuesday evening, a flood of messages were posted praising Lee, many including his @crazybob Twitter handle.
was set to work on @mobilecoin with you tomorrow morning @crazybob, You always believed in me, I will always be grateful to you.
Committed to seeing this project through to the end as long as the team is with me.
— Kyle Zink (@kylezink) April 5, 2023
RIP one of the most realistic human beings I have ever met @crazybob
rip bob lee
CTO Square
CTO Mobile Coin
Cash App Makerand a red single dad 🙏
— Joshua Charles (@JoshCDonaldson) April 5, 2023
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square (now called The Block), responded to the news via a post Wednesday on the decentralized social media app Nostra. “Heartbreaking,” Dorsey wrote. “Bob played a key role in Square and Cash App.”
Mixed martial arts fighter Jake Shields remembered Lee as a “loyal friend” in a tweet, writing, “RIP bro.”
Shields’ tweet caught the attention of Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk, who said, “Violent crime in SF is appalling and even if attackers are caught, they are often quickly released.” Musk tagged San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in his tweet.
Jenkins posted his statement on his Twitter page on Wednesday morning.
“I want to offer my deepest condolences to the family members and loved ones of Mr. Lee for their loss,” Jenkins said. “We do not tolerate these horrific acts of violence in San Francisco.”
San Francisco is battling an apparent increase in crime as it still attempts to bounce back from the pandemic. Preliminary police data reports that there have been 12 murders in San Francisco this year, a 20% increase from the same period last year. Overall, there are 56 murders expected in San Francisco in 2022, which is equal to the number of murders the city will see in 2021.
Mayor London Breed said in a statement, “The murder of Bob Lee is a terrible tragedy and my sympathies are with his family and friends. Police are actively investigating what happened and will share details as soon as possible.” “San Francisco is prioritizing public safety, including recently passing our supplemental budget, so we have the police staff needed to have more police officers in our neighborhoods and investigate violent crimes. I We are confident that when police make arrests in cases like this, our district attorneys will do whatever is necessary to hold anyone accountable for their actions.”
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents the neighborhood where the fatal stabbing took place, said, “This is a senseless tragedy that I know is made worse by the fact that no suspects are yet in custody.” Is.”
“I have also heard from a number of constituents in the area – some of whom have already expressed concern to me about public safety challenges – and I am asking all to co-operate with the police in their investigation, Especially for those surveillance videos that might help.”
No arrests have been made in the case and San Francisco police have not released any suspect details.
Anyone with information about the fatal stabbing was asked to call the police department’s tip line at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 with “SFPD” at the beginning of the message.
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