The man suspected of stabbing a tech executive in San Francisco this month also worked in the tech industry, a finding that throws cold water on claims that the accused killer was homeless or a drug addict.
On April 4, Bob Lee, the founder of the popular service CashApp, died after being stabbed in what was described as a “good” part of the city. The incident was immediately used by some, including conservatives and so-called “tech bros,” to blame the incident on the city’s crime issues and homeless population.
In the wake of it, Twitter CEO Elon Musk said that “violent crime in SF is horrific.”
Others online followed suit, painting the city as out-of-control and lawless.
Yet it might be the tech bros themselves who need reining in.
According to a report on Thursday by Mission Local, the San Francisco Police Department made an arrest this morning of a man that Lee purportedly knew. The suspect, named in a warrant as Nima Momeni, owned a company called Expand IT and was located by law enforcement outside of the city’s borders.
Police sources speaking with Mission Local stated that the stabbing was neither random nor part of a robbery attempt. The pair had reportedly driven together in the suspect’s vehicle through downtown San Francisco that evening.
A confrontation is said to have taken place in the vehicle that spilled out into the street. That is where police say Momeni stabbed Lee multiple times before fleeing the scene.
As further noted by Mission Local, although San Francisco’s property crime remains high, its violent crime rate is at a “near-historic low.”
“Today’s arrest would appear to undermine the premise that Lee’s violent death was due to street conditions in San Francisco,” the news outlet wrote. “If the police do have their man, this was not a robbery gone bad nor a motiveless assault by some random attacker—but an alleged grievance between men who knew one another, that the suspect purportedly escalated into a lethal conflict.”
Ironically, the tech industry has long been blamed for the city’s growing homeless concerns they frequently bemoan due to the influx of highly paid workers the industry brought in, which led to skyrocketing property values.
Now, they can add violent crime to that list as well.
