By Brianna Theophile, @itsbriannat

Bob Lee, a former technology executive who helped in the launch of CashApp and chief product officer of the cryptocurrency platform MobileCoin, was killed from a stabbing attack in downtown San Francisco early Tuesday morning, as confirmed by police and his employer, MobileCoin.  

In a press release from the San Francisco Police Department, officers responded to the report of a stabbing on Main Street at 2:35 a.m. and found a 43-year-old man suffering from life-threatening stabbing wounds, later to be confirmed as Bob Lee. After being brought to the hospital, he later succumbed to his injuries despite efforts by first responders and medical personnel.

London Breed, mayor of San Francisco, reacted to the news by calling it “a horrible tragedy”, and says more details will be shared soon as the police are still investigating Lee’s death, with no arrests made currently.

San Francisco has been experiencing an apparent rise in crime post-pandemic, and the fatal attack of Lee has raised concern of safety for many residents in the neighborhood of the stabbing.

However, Kimberly Richman, a professor of criminal justice and legal studies at the University of San Francisco, says that the homicidal rate in San Francisco has actually remained low, and appears to be more alarming than it is due to the increase of cases by a few each year. She also attributes this rise in discourse to the fact that Lee was white and high-profile in status.

“A high-profile murder like Bob Lee, who was a white, wealthy, upper-class public figure in a neighborhood you don’t associate with crimes rates, it’s going to seem like it’s here too and out of control,” says Richman. “We know there’s a lot more attention paid to violent crimes and murder in which there was a white victim, and so these cases really grab the public’s attention.”