Bob Lee dead: Cash App founder dies after San Francisco stabbing

The founder of multibillion-dollar tech firm Cash App, Bob Lee, was fatally stabbed close to downtown San Francisco on Tuesday, his household mentioned.

San Francisco police discovered a 43-year-old man with stab wounds and handled him earlier than he later died in hospital.

His father, Rick Lee, confirmed his son – who was additionally the ex-chief know-how officer at Square – had been killed.

San Francisco officers have been criticised for his or her response to a wave of violent crime lately.

The California’s San Francisco Police Department mentioned officers responded to studies of a stabbing on Tuesday at round 02:35 native time (10:35 BST).

They discovered Mr Lee unconscious on the bottom with two stab wounds to his chest, in response to the San Francisco Chronicle, and began to manage help earlier than dashing him to San Francisco General Hospital.

Mr Lee’s father posted a message on Facebook on Wednesday confirming the circumstances surrounding his son’s loss of life.

“I just lost my best friend, my son Bob Lee when he lost his life on the street in San Francisco early Tuesday morning,” Rick Lee wrote. “Thank you to those who have reached out in support.”

Tim Oliver Lee, Mr Lee’s brother, additionally posted on Facebook: “He really was the best of us. I was so fortunate to grow up with him, and I feel like I’ve lost part of myself.”

At his time of loss of life, Mr Lee was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency firm MobileCoin.

“He was a generous decent human being who didn’t deserve to be killed,” mentioned Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra, a cryptocurrency firm, on Twitter, noting that Mr Lee additionally was a father.

Cash App is a smartphone-based cost app that enables person-to-person cash transfers and is now price $40bn (£32bn), in response to Forbes.

Since launching in 2013, its consumer base has skyrocketed, hitting seven million month-to-month lively customers in 2017, and climbing to 30 million in 2020.

Mr Lee’s loss of life has prompted renewed criticism of violent crime within the Californian metropolis.

Tesla founder and Twitter chief govt Elon Musk responded to tributes to Mr Lee, saying: “Violent crime in [San Francisco] is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately.”

Data from 2021 reveals that residents there face a 1-in-16 likelihood annually of being a sufferer of property or violent crime, in response to the Hoover Institution, a coverage analysis assume tank, making the town extra harmful than 98% of US cities.

Homicides have been a selected situation for San Francisco for the reason that pandemic.

There had been 56 homicides within the metropolis in 2021 and 2022, and preliminary police information reveals there have been 12 homicides in San Francisco up to now this 12 months.

San Francisco police have but to establish a suspect on this case, and no arrests have been made within the ongoing investigation.