Cash App founder’s death recalls concerns over San Francisco safety
Fox News’ Jeff Paul covers the details surrounding the stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco.
Tech entrepreneur Bob Lee left San Francisco in October amid concerns over public safety and then returned on business and found himself pleading for help in a 911 call after sustaining fatal injuries in a stabbing near the waterfront.
"Help!" he shouted, according to a local report. "Someone stabbed me."
The tech innovator's life was cut short around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday in Rincon Hill, a neighborhood on the edge of the San Francisco Bay, according to police.
Police have not publicly identified a suspect, although there is apparent surveillance video from moments after the attack.
CASH APP'S BOB LEE ON SAN FRANCISCO STREET BEGGING FOR HELP MOMENTS AFTER FATAL STABBING: REPORT
Bob Lee posted this aerial photo from his new Florida home in October 2022 after leaving tech mecca San Francisco. (Bob Lee/Twitter)
The San Francisco Standard reported Wednesday that it had reviewed surveillance video showing the Cash App founder stumbling down the sidewalk away from the Bay Bridge, holding his side before collapsing. Then, in harrowing 911 audio revealed Thursday, he begged the 911 operator for help before succumbing to his injuries.
Fox News Digital has not independently confirmed either recording.
Cash App founder and tech exec Bob Lee, 43, was a father of two. He had recently moved from San Francisco to Miami but suffered fatal stab wounds early Tuesday on a return to the California city. (Bob Lee/Facebook )
In a statement, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said that the department would not be commenting on evidence in the case due to the active investigation.
"I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Mr. Lee," he said. "There is no place for this kind of violent crime against anyone in our city."
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott appears during a news briefing at SFPD headquarters on Dec. 13, 2018. (Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Lee moved out of crime-ridden San Francisco and relocated to Miami amid safety concerns last fall before returning to the Left Coast on an ill-fated trip that ended in his stabbing death this week.
He tweeted an aerial photo of the Miami waterfront on Oct. 7 praising the view, but also wrote about returning to California on business.
Before leaving Silicon Valley, he publicly flagged concerns about rising hate crimes against Asian Americans in San Francisco and over the summer wrote, "I also want to prevent crime and live in a civilized society."
Jake Shields, a mixed martial arts fighter and friend of Lee's, slammed San Francisco's struggles with crime on Twitter after Lee was identified as the victim of a fatal stabbing.
"I just found out my good friend was killed last night while walking him in San Francisco," he wrote Wednesday. "He was in the ‘good’ part of the city and appeared to have been targeted in a random mugging/attack. F--- San Francisco."
Bob Lee and his family in an undated Facebook photo. The tech innovator recently described his new home in Miami as feeling like "Silicon Valley in the early 2000s." He returned to San Francisco to visit and was fatally stabbed early Tuesday. (Bob Lee/Facebook )
Shields' tweets prompted a response from tech titan Elon Musk, who himself ditched Silicon Valley for Texas.
"Very sorry to hear that," Musk wrote. "Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately."
In a televised interview with NewsNation, Shields blamed crime and low faith in public safety for Lee's cross-country move.
Tech Titan's move to Miami
"He did comment on San Francisco deteriorating, which is why he actually had just relocated to Miami," he told the network.
Lee was found with stab wounds near the Portside residential building in the shadow of the Bay Bridge, according to authorities. Zillow showed just two listings in the exclusive high-rise Thursday, a one-bedroom apartment for $685,000 and a two-bedroom for $1.2 million.
Cash App founder Bob Lee was fatally stabbed outside a residential building in San Francisco early Tuesday, according to police. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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Lee got up and made it to the Portside building before he collapsed again. Police rushed him to a hospital, where he died. Investigators have not identified any suspects and have made no arrests as of Thursday morning.
In a Twitter thread, Shields slammed city policies and former District Attorney Chesa Boudin, whose progressive policies were deemed anti-law enforcement and a threat to public by voters who tossed him from office in a recall election last year.
"San Francisco allows crime to go unchecked, and now Bob's daughters have to grow up with no father," he wrote.
Lee seemed to thrive in Miami after the move, even urging another tech entrepreneur to move there from San Francisco just last month.
In January, tweeting about preparations for a work meeting, Lee noted that "Miami feels like Silicon Valley in the early 2000s."
A man walks barefoot near San Francisco's City Hall in November. The city has struggled with homelessness and other public safety issues. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
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City crime statistics show that most major crimes have fallen thus far in 2023, compared to the same period last year. But violent crimes as a whole have risen slightly, driven by an 18% increase in robberies and a 33% rise in homicides. Felony assaults have remained flat as misdemeanor assaults have climbed by 13%, according to the statistics.
Anyone with information on Lee's death is asked to call San Francisco's tip line at 1-415-575-4444.
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