A man killed in an early Tuesday morning stabbing in downtown San Francisco has now been identified as Bob Lee, the founder of Block (BSQKZ) -owned online payment platform Cash App.
Lee had also formerly been the chief financial officer of Block's business payment platform Square and, in his last role, the chief product officer of cryptocurrency platform MobileCoin.
DON'T MISS: Tax Rules for Cash Apps and 1099-K Form Explained
A report from the San Francisco Police Department had initially reported that a "43-year-old adult male victim suffering from apparent stab wounds" had been located on the 300 block of San Francisco's Main Street in the Rincon Hill neighborhood at 2:35 a.m. on Tuesday, April 4.
Bob Lee Was a 'Force Of Nature,' Colleagues Say
After finding Lee on the street, first responders rushed him to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries but were unable to save his life. He passed away from the injuries early Tuesday morning.
By the end of Tuesday, reports identifying Lee as the victim started pouring in. MobileCoin CEO Joshua Goldbard called Lee "a force of nature" who "helped to birth Android and CashApp into our world."
"Moby was his dream: a privacy protecting wallet for the 21st Century," Goldbard told local news outlet ABC7. "I will miss him every day."
Square CEO and Snap (SNAP) founder Jack Dorsey also confirmed Lee's death by writing "it's real" on the decentralized social media platform Nostr. Dorsey called the loss "heartbreaking" and wrote that Lee had been "instrumental to Square and Cash App."
No arrests have been made as of Wednesday morning while suspect information has also not been released. According to the SFPD, the incident "remains an active investigation." Anyone who may have been in the area and witnessed the stabbing is asked to call or text the department's anonymous tip line.
Known by the nickname "Crazy Bob," Lee had been a prominent tech industry leader and investor with many friends in the tech space — he had also worked at Google (GOOGL) and developed early Android software for multiple platforms.
Lee's Death Ripples Through the Tech Community
The death sent shockwaves through the technology, fintech and business communities and, by the night of April 4, multiple leaders started posting tributes.
"Was scheduled to work on @mobilecoin with you tomorrow AM @crazybob," Kyle Zink, founder of business app platform Atomic, wrote on Twitter. "You always believed in me, I'll be forever grateful."
An old political argument around what is being done around crime in San Francisco was also reignited. A close friend of Lee, former MMA fighter Jake Shields, wrote that he "did not want to be the one to leak [Lee's] name" before it was released but hoped it would "at least bring attention to these problems."
Elon Musk, who knew Lee through his early investments in PayPal (PYPL), responded to Shields' tweet by writing that he was "very sorry" about his death. In the same post, he asked San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins if San Francisco was "taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders."
While Lee was extremely private about his personal life and maintained a very low profile on social media, Abra mobile payments app CEO Bill Barhydt identified Lee as a "dad" and a "generous decent human being" in his tribute on Twitter.
