Holly MatkinBy Holly Matkin and Sandy Malone
San Francisco, CA – Surveillance video has been released that shows Cash App creator and former Square Chief Technology Officer Bob Lee being was stabbed to death by an unidentified attacker and then collapsing outside his luxury high-rise apartment building early Wednesday morning (video below).
The incident occurred in the 300-block of Main Street shortly after 2:30 a.m. on April 5, KRON reported.
Officers from the San Francisco Police Department’s (SFPD) Southern Station responded to the scene after receiving a report about a stabbing, the department said in a press release.
They arrived to find a 43-year-old male “suffering from apparent stab wounds,” according to the SFPD.
Officers immediately rendered aid and requested the assistance of emergency medical personnel.
The victim was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.
Officials and family members later confirmed the man who was stabbed to death was Lee, The New York Times reported.
Police have not released any details about any potential suspects.
“At this time no arrests have been made,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins tweeted on Wednesday morning.
Jenkins urged anyone with information about the incident to contact police immediately.
“I want to extend my sincerest condolences to Mr. Lee’s family members & loved ones for his loss,” she added. “We do not tolerate these horrific acts of violence in San Francisco.”
Crime has gotten so bad in the city that the San Francisco City Council recently voted to approve a police contract with a 20 percent pay bump, KNTV reported.
The SFPD Homicide Detail is handling the ongoing investigation into Lee’s murder.
It is unclear if the attack was random or targeted.
The first surveillance video of the attack showed Lee appearing to have a verbal altercation of some sort and running into the middle of the street in front of a car, attempting to get help, according to KNTV.
But the driver didn’t stop and the video showed Lee’s attack chased him around the vehicle, took the tech giant to the ground, and began viciously stabbing him over and over again.
Only when Lee was down in the middle road and had stopped moving did his attack stop and stroll away from the scene as if nothing had happened, the surveillance video showed.
A second video filmed from inside the lobby of Lee’s high rise showed that he was able to get up and walk back to the doors of his building before he collapsed to the ground.
The Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur was also an executive at MobileCoin and helped develop Android, KRON reported.
Lee was a consultant for multiple companies and worked as a web developer for Southeast Missouri State University prior to moving to San Francisco to work at Google in 2004, according to the news outlet.
Ten years later, he became the chief technology officer at Square, where he played a role in launching MobileCoin and Cash App.
Lee was also an angel investor in a slew of companies, including Found, Netswitch, SiPhox, Gowalla, Ticket Fairy, Nana, Addressable, Orchid, Faire, Figma, Tile, Clubhouse, and SpaceX, KRON reported.
“Our dear friend and colleague, Bob Lee passed away yesterday at the age of 43, survived by a loving family and collection of close friends and collaborators,” MobileCoin CEO Josh Goldbard said in a statement to CNN.
“Bob was a dynamo, a force of nature,” Goldbard wrote. “Bob was the genuine article. He was made for the world that is being born right now, he was a child of dreams, and whatever he imagined, no matter how crazy, he made real.”
Watch the incident unfold in the videos below. WARNING – Graphic Content:
Video shows cash app founder Bob Lee being chased down and stabbed 🙏🏽🚨 pic.twitter.com/tQpe2n99qM
— BayAreaAlert (@BayAreaalert_) April 7, 2023
@DailyMail posted the CCTV footage showing Cash App founder Bob Lee asking for help after being stabbed, the car drove off. Then walked towards the apartment building staggering, holding his midsection and collapsing. #BobLee #SanFrancisco pic.twitter.com/1t83GNNpmt
— DeL2000 (@DeL2000) April 7, 2023
Sandy Malone