'Reckless and irresponsible': Official responds to Elon Musk's tweet sent after murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee

The San Francisco district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, has criticized Elon Musk for making a "reckless and irresponsible" statement in relation to the recent death of tech executive Bob Lee. Lee was fatally stabbed last week, and a suspect, 38-year-old Nima Momeni, has been arrested.

At a press conference on Thursday, the San Francisco Police Department announced the arrest of Momeni, who is believed to have known Lee. The 43-year-old Lee was the founder of Cash App and a former CTO of Square. At the time of his death, he was working as the chief product officer of another fintech company, MobileCoin.

Jenkins addressed a tweet from Musk regarding Lee's death during the press conference. Musk had tweeted, "Very sorry to hear that. Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately. Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders?" In response, Jenkins said that Musk's tweet "spreads misinformation at a time when the police are trying to solve a very difficult case."

Jenkins further stated that reckless and irresponsible statements like Musk's tweet serve to mislead people and negatively impact the pursuit of justice for victims of crimes, as they spread misinformation at a time when the police are trying to solve a difficult case. "Since this incident happened, since waking up to Elon Musk's tweet, my office has worked hard to tell people not to make assumptions about this case, about the facts of this case," she added.

Also read: 'Many people have been severely assaulted': Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey react to murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee

Several tech executives expressed their condolences following Lee's death. Jack Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter, said that Lee's death was "heartbreaking." Lee was the CTO of Square, Dorsey's fintech company, from 2010 to 2014. "It's real. Getting calls," Dorsey wrote on Nostr. "Bob was instrumental to Square and Cash App."

Other tech executives and venture capitalists who commented on Lee's death via Twitter expressed concerns about crime and safety in San Francisco. Some had speculated that Lee was killed in a random attack.

Also read: 'You don't know what you're talking about': Elon Musk grills BBC reporter during interview