Oakland musician Dave Deporis was tragically killed yesterday afternoon while pursuing a thief who stole his computer, SFGate reports. According to witnesses, he was sitting outside a local cafe when someone snatched his laptop, which contained all of his music, and jumped into a red Audi SUV. After chasing the thief and grabbing onto the side of the getaway vehicle, Deporis was briefly dragged along the road and then run over. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. He was 40 years old. No arrests have yet been made.

I found out that the beautiful musician #DaveDeporis has passed away… I first heard him years ago at Sidewalk Cafe https://t.co/DiI63yfmMD

— regina spektor (@respektor) August 10, 2017

My tears overflow with the passing of the incredible @youhavepowers . #DaveDeporis was playing the Sidewalk Cafe in New York in 1999 and 2000 when I first started playing the open mic there. He wrote a song with a pencil in his guitar and I loved the song so much and wrote "Disappear" with a pencil in my guitar too but my song wasn't as pretty as his. Ever. He raged. He wandered. He sang so pretty he could break my heart in half and soften the walls I'd built around myself.. I had so many hopes for him and for his music. He never put anything out cause he was always recording and re-recording and editing songs, changing them time over again… but in all their iterations they were beautiful. He was a punk. Other. A true original. He was my friend. I am so sad. See you in the spheres, dear David. #SwanKing ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

A post shared by Shara Nova (@mybrightestdiamond) on Aug 9, 2017 at 6:25pm PDT

Now everything you ever were. Swirling in it all as always.
Forever in peace Dave Deporis. Thanks for the music. ❤️https://t.co/b2AJhX1hcS

— Kimya Dawson (@mrskimyadawson) August 10, 2017