A top police union official told The Post that the San Francisco neighborhood where Cash App founder Bob Lee was stabbed to death has had at least 12 murders this year and is “severely lacking” in police presence.
Lee’s heinous assault was one of four stabbings that occurred earlier this week in the Democrat-controlled city’s Southern and Tenderloin Districts, which have seen rising crime rates, according to Lt. Tracy McCray, vice president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association.
“We are understaffed, so our patrol presence is severely lacking right now.” A rise in crime is to be expected, but I believe we have reached a tipping point where we could go either way,” McCray said.
Lee, 43, was stabbed multiple times in the chest while walking in the city’s posh Rincon Hill neighborhood, which is in the Southern District and near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, around 2:35 a.m. Tuesday.
Lee screamed for help as he passed out on the street in front of the Portside, a residential building in the 300 block of Main Street.
The tech tycoon was captured on camera holding his cellphone and desperately flagging down oncoming cars before passing out.
San Francisco Police have not yet provided a description of any potential suspects, and no arrests have been made.
According to Allison Maxie, an SFPD spokeswoman, “We have not released any video surveillance or photos so we can’t confirm or comment on any images or videos at this point.”
Police data shows that robberies in the Southern District, which includes Rincon Hill, are up about 14% from the previous year. In the region, there have been 12 homicides between January and April 2.
According to crime statistics, violent crimes have also increased 7.5% in San Francisco over the past three years, while property crimes have skyrocketed to 20.7%.
Homicides increased 36.6% in the 815,000-person city from 41 to 56, despite a 13.6% drop in violent crime overall between 2019 and 2022.
Rising crime rates in San Francisco contributed to last year’s recall campaigns against progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was removed due to his lax crime policies.
According to locals, the Rincon neighborhood where Lee was killed is home to high-rise apartments worth millions of dollars where tech industry titans, celebrities, and players from the Golden State Warriors basketball team have been known to reside.
Despite the generally quiet neighborhood, they worry that victims could easily include locals and visitors.
A local told The Post, “You see people around here with really nice cars and dress really well, and they could be targets.” “The first thing that crossed my mind when I learned what had happened to him [Lee] was, ‘What would he be doing here around that time?'” There are people from all walks of life here, but why would someone who is so affluent be wandering the streets like that? It is not logical.