A tech entrepreneur left San Francisco out of fear of high crime rates there, his friend said, but was stabbed to death during a return visit to the city.
Bob Lee, 43, was the CFO of Square, which was founded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, before launching the mobile cash app. Dorsey was among those who expressed their shock and grief at Lee’s death.
Lee left San Francisco six months ago and moved to Miami, but has returned to the city for work. He extended his flight by one day, and was killed.
“He commented on the decline of San Francisco, which is why he just moved to Miami,” said Jake Shields, a UFC champion who knows Lee well.
Shields himself made the decision to leave San Francisco after his girlfriend was mugged, and is now a resident of Las Vegas.
“So I’m not sure why he’s back there to pick up a little business in San Francisco for a few days.”
Shields told NewsNation that Lee “has no enemies.” San Francisco police have not yet made any arrests.
“(He was) a good person – he added to the community, he was such a good person, and everyone loved him,” said Shields.
He was really respected in the tech community, he never talked about his accomplishments, and people would tell me, “Oh, Bob’s a pretty big deal in the tech industry.”
UFC fighter Jake Shields says his late friend Bob Lee left San Francisco for Miami over fears of rising crime – only to be stabbed to death during a flight back to the city by the Bay
I have to say this is interesting. He’s a good person! “
Shields said he and Lee do not share the same political perspective, but they do enjoy an exchange of opinions.
“It’s upsetting that something should happen to such a good person,” said Shields.
Sometimes we disagree politically, but he is a man who likes to discuss and hear other points of view.
Lee, a father of two young daughters, moved to Miami in October 2022, and has been living with his father.
Some reports said that his wife, Krista, was still living in San Francisco. Lee’s father described him as “celibate”, but it was not clear if Lee and his wife were still married.
Shields said he was a devoted father.
“He had two daughters whom he loved very much,” said Shields.
You know, they talked so highly of him.
“So it is very sad that he left his two daughters to grow up without their father.”
Footage Wednesday, obtained by the San Francisco Standard, reportedly showed Lee’s final moments.
In the photos — which DailyMail.com has not independently verified — Lee can be seen walking down Main Street at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, near Rincon Park and the Ferry Building in a busy central part of town.
The newspaper stated that he was holding his side with one hand and holding his phone with the other.
Bob Lee, the CEO and technology investor who helped create the Android and Cash app, was stabbed to death in San Francisco on Tuesday night.
Lee was stabbed and walked down Main Street (pictured), with the Bay Bridge behind him, at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
He called for help from a driver, but the driver was faster: then Lee collapsed in front of this building
The authorities confirmed his transfer to hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of Tuesday
Walking with the Bay Bridge behind him, he crosses the intersection with Harrison Street and approaches a waiting white Toyota Camry—which some have speculated might be a ride-share he called for help.
Lee lifts his shirt to show his stab wounds, and the car speeds away.
Then Lee staggered up the hill and collapsed in front of 403 Main Street, an apartment complex called Portside.
“Police responded to the stabbing incident that took place on Main Street around 2:35 a.m. to find a man with stab wounds,” the police said in a statement.
The victim was taken to hospital, where he died.
Police were called to the 300th block of Main Street near the entrance of a high-rise building and found the father-of-two suffering multiple stab wounds.
Bob Lee, pictured with his wife Krista and two daughters, decided to stay an extra day in San Francisco on a business trip
Dubbed “Crazy Bob” by friends, Lee has been an active investor in several companies, such as SpaceX, Clubhouse, and Figma.
But he is back in San Francisco on business, and extends it for one night.
Elon Musk was among those commenting on Lee’s killing, asking San Francisco District Attorney Brock Jenkins what she was doing to “lock up a repeat violent offender.”
So sorry to hear that. Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in Florida is a horrific crime, and even if the attackers are caught, they are often immediately released.
“Is the city taking stronger action to jail Brock Jenkins?”
Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter and Tesla, also commented on the horrific incident, asking the San Francisco DA what it was doing to “lock up repeat violent offenders.”
“I just lost my best friend, my son Bob Lee when he lost his life on the street in San Francisco early Tuesday morning,” Ricky Lee wrote.
Ricky Lee, Lee’s father, posted on Facebook Wednesday afternoon confirming his death
Dubbed “Crazy Bob” by friends, Lee has been an active investor in several companies, such as SpaceX, Clubhouse, and Figma.
Heartbroken friends and colleagues paid tribute to the tech executive, with Joshua Goldbard saying, “My heart is broken tonight.”
He added, “Bob was a force of nature. He helped us give birth to Android and CashApp into our world.
Mobi was his dream: a privacy-protecting wallet for the 21st century. I will miss him every day.
Bill Barhit added, “Bob was a father, former CTO of Square where he created the Cash App and CTO of Mobile Coin.
“He was a decent and decent human being who did not deserve to be killed.”
Dorsey said: It’s true. receiving calls. Heartbreaking. Bob has been instrumental in the Square and Cash app. Man of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
The founder of cryptocurrency and payments company MobileCoin has worked with Lee for two years, serving as Product Director since November 2021.
Lee was previously the chief technology officer of Square — which recently renamed itself to Block — when it developed and launched Square Cash in 2013.
Heartbroken friends and colleagues paid tribute to the tech executive, with Joshua Goldbard saying: ‘My heart is broken tonight’
Since that time, the brand has grown into a Cash App, with tens of millions of users in the US and UK.
Prior to that, Lee worked as a software engineer at Google from 2004 to 2010, where he helped design the core library for Android.
So far this year in the city there have been 39 murders, which is twice as high as this time last year as the increase in crime is making residents anxious.
London Mayor Pride, a Democrat, said in February it was asking for nearly $30 million in additional funding for the city’s police force.
The San Francisco Police Department has faced rising overtime costs for existing officers as the force suffers from a shortage of workers.
Between 2021 and 2022, the department saw a 121 percent increase in total overtime work, according to KPIX.
SFPD officials have also made targeted attempts to tackle crime in some accident-prone pockets of the city.
The San Francisco Police Department is currently short of 541 officers.
Police are urging anyone with information to come forward by calling the SFPD Information Line 415-575-4444.
