Cash App founder Bob Lee screamed in agony as he desperately told a 911 operator: ‘Help, someone stabbed me’, after he was knifed on the streets of San Francisco near the Google offices.
After being stabbed twice in the chest, Lee clutched his wounds with one hand, and held his cellphone in the other as he pleaded for help from emergency responders, according to images obtained by The San Francisco Standard.
Officers arrived at the scene within six minutes of the 911 call just after 2:30am on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, but the tech mogul was tragically pronounced dead soon after being rushed to San Francisco General Hospital.
West Coast residents have slammed the killing as it follows a disturbing violent crime wave that has plagued the region in recent years.
The disturbing images, which DailyMail.com has not independently verified, captured the father-of-two’s final moments after he was stabbed in the chest.
He stumbled up San Francisco’s Main Street away from Bay Bridge in the early hours of the morning, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
After crossing the street, he approached a parked white Toyota Camry with its hazard lights on, which some have speculated may have been a ride share he called for help.
But after lifting up his shirt and revealing his stab wounds, the car reportedly callously drove away.
Lee then staggered up the hill and collapsed in front of 403 Main Street, an apartment complex named The Portside.
The area where Lee was attacked has stunned the surrounding neighborhood of Rincon Hill, which boasts 24/7 private security patrols. At the time of the stabbing, two security guards were roaming through their 67-block route, but were not nearby, said Andrew Robinson, executive director of the East Cut Community Benefit District, to SF Gate.
‘The shock and trauma on top of this is the people that live and work here, this is not our experience,’ he said. ‘This isn’t a common experience in the neighborhood.’
Property taxes in the ritzy area, which hosts several company offices including Google, Mozilla, and Gap, fund the private security guards, who are on call to residents with any security concerns.
According to police data, the Southern San Francisco police district, where Lee was killed, has seen just one homicide this year.
At some point after the car fled the scene, Lee dialed 911 and repeatedly pleaded for help, reportedly screaming to be rushed to a hospital.
According to the Standard, the tech mogul called 911 at 2:34am, and police arrived at the scene in under six minutes.
However, police said Lee was already unconscious when they arrived, leading officers to begin CPR on the tech mogul. Authorities said in a statement the father-of-two died after being rushed to hospital.
Although a kitchen knife with a four-inch blade was found in a parking lot across the street, according to ABC7. no arrests or suspects have yet been announced.
In a press conference on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, SFPD Chief Bill Scott declined to offer a motive for the attack and declined to speculate if it was targeted or random.
‘I have nothing to share yet,’ he said. ‘We don’t want to be premature and definitely we don’t want to speculate so we are going to be thoughtful about following the evidence and we’ll put out what we’ll put out as soon as we can.’
San Francisco residents have pointed to the attack as just the latest in a horrifying crime wave that has gripped the West Coast.
Lee had left the region six months ago and had moved to Miami, but was back in the city on business. He extended his trip by one day, and was murdered.
‘He did comment on San Francisco deteriorating, which is why he actually had just relocated to Miami,’ said Jake Shields, a champion UFC fighter who knew Lee well.
Shields told NewsNation that Lee had ‘no enemies,’ adding: ‘(He was) a good human being — he added to society, he was a good person, everyone loved him.
‘He was really respected in the tech community, never talked about his accomplishments, other people would tell me, “Oh yeah, Bob’s a super big deal in the tech industry.”‘
Lee was the chief financial officer of Square, the app started by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, before he launched the mobile payment company Cash App. Dorsey was among those expressing shock and sadness at Lee’s murder.
Elon Musk was also among those commenting on Lee’s murder, and asked the San Francisco district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, what she is doing to ‘incarcerate repeated violent offenders’.
Musk said, in response to a tweet expressing sorrow at Lee’s death: ‘Very sorry to hear that. 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.
‘Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders Brooke Jenkins?’
Lee’s father, Rick Lee, wrote a heartbreaking tribute to his son on Facebook, saying: ‘I just lost my best friend.
‘Bobby worked harder than anyone and was the smartest person I have ever known.’
In February, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said she was requesting an additional $30 million to fund the city’s police force as a crime wave continues to plague the area.
So far this year San Francisco has seen 39 murders, two up from this time last year, as an increase in crime has left residents concerned.
The San Francisco Police Department has encountered rising overtime costs for current officers as the force is experiencing a shortage of workers. Between 2021 and 2022, the department saw a 121 percent increase in total overtime, according to KPIX.
SFPD officials have also been making targeted attempts to address crime in certain pockets in the city which are prone to incidents.
The San Francisco Police Department is currently experiencing a shortage of 541 officers.
Police are urging anyone with information to come forward by calling the SFPD tip-line 415-575-4444.
Source: Daily Mail
