SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) has released the audio of a 911 dispatcher talking to officers in response to a call for help from Cash App founder Bob Lee, who had just been stabbed.
“There’s a male screaming ‘help,’ saying, ‘Someone stabbed me,’” the 911 dispatcher said in the recording. “He is not giving a 20; this is a cellphone site location. Advised he’s bleeding out. ... He is still outside on the street.”
“Not giving a 20” means the caller could not give an exact location. According to the SFPD, police officers responded to this dispatch at 2:35 a.m. on April 4, and dispatchers were able to locate Bob Lee by the GPS of his cellphone.
The SFPD’s daily crime summary from that day states that “officers located V1 [one victim] unconscious on the ground with two stab wounds to the chest” at 2:45 a.m.
Lee was sent to San Francisco General Hospital and eventually died from the chest wounds.
Lee was a software engineer, investor, and executive. He participated in Google’s Android development and was chief technology officer of Square, a mobile payments company now called Block. In 2021, Lee became the chief product officer at a cryptocurrency startup called MobileCoin.
At the corner of Main Street and Harrison on the night of April 7, flowers, candles, and cards with prayers and well wishes piled up, and a girl sang soul themes mourning the tech mogul.
One card was from a member of the WHO COVID App Team, Pat Bruno, who wrote: “For your friendship, your technical insights & your humanity, RIP Bob.”
In another note, someone named “CH” wrote: “Bob, RIP—we all are going to miss you, and you will always be remembered.”
The SFPD is not releasing any details of the ongoing investigation.
Lee Captured on Surveillance
Surveillance footage exclusively obtained by Daily Mail captured Lee trying to get help after being stabbed.The footage was taken from two cameras, one inside the lobby of the Portside condo complex and the other across the street facing the building. The address of the condo is 403 Main Street, the same place where dispatchers located Lee.
Video captured Lee at timestamp 2:34:26 walking on the west side of Main Street toward the north. At 2:34:46, he was on the east side of Main Street, walking toward the front of a just-parked car, leaning toward the car and appearing to ask for help. But the car drove away.
At 2:35:22, Lee staggered towards the doorbell panel of Portside. He collapsed at 2:36:02.
After a while, he tried to get up on his knees and wave his right hand, which held his cellphone, to a car passing by. Then he moved out of the video.
Police Chief Confident in Investigators
SFPD Chief Bill Scott declined to confirm whether the stabbing was random or targeted, saying it’s an ongoing investigation.“We have a lot that’s on our plate with this investigation and following up on things that need to be followed up on,” Scott said in a CBS News program on April 6.
Scott also said the clearance rate of homicide cases so far this year is 80–85 percent, and he said he’s 100 percent confident in his investigation team.
Public Safety Issues in San Francisco
Lee’s death raised concerns about public safety in San Francisco.The billionaire called for stronger action against repeat violent offenders.
Former mayoral candidate Richie Greenberg told The Epoch Times: “This murder of Bob Lee is indeed a tragedy and a horrific reminder that San Francisco is not safe as long as there may be mentally ill, drug addicts, or malicious perpetrators of robberies running loose on the streets.”
Rincon Hill, the area where Lee was stabbed and collapsed, is known by locals as East Cut and is just steps away from an ocean view. The Portside building is adjacent to the financial district and only blocks away from the financial services company Charles Schwab.
The SFPD was able to identify and arrest a suspect, 24-year-old Garret Doty.
Carmignani is expected to survive, but recovery will take a long time, his father Ray Carmignani told KRON4.
