A San Francisco street ambassador who had just turned his life around after 23 years in prison was shot dead by a man he’d asked to stop using drugs outside a public library, according to officials and colleagues.
Joey Alexander, who worked for nonprofit organization Urban Alchemy, confronted the man for using drugs near children outside the Main Branch of the San Francisco Public Library on Friday when the man pulled out a shotgun and blasted him, Urban Alchemy spokesperson Jess Montejano said.
The 60-year-old father of two, who had just walked out of prison in December 2022, died from his wounds on Tuesday.
“That was his beat, in front of the main library. He showed up to work every day when it was his shift,” Montejano told reporters Wednesday, KRON reported.
When Alexander asked the man to stop, the man yelled, “‘F–k Urban Alchemy,’ pulled out a pulled a shotgun out of his bag and shot him in the torso area,” she said.
Edmund Bowen, 42, was arrested and booked on suspicion of homicide, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Prosecutors are likely to pursue a murder charge before the end of the week, according to KTVU.
Urban Alchemy, which launched in 2018, is contracted with San Francisco and sends its employees, most of whom were formerly incarcerated, into some of the city’s roughest neighbors to deter crime and drug use on the streets.
Alexander had worked as an Urban Alchemy ambassador for two years and turned his life around after spending more than two decades behind bars. He found a new purpose in helping others and giving back to the community, according to his brother.
“He wanted to make right what he’d done in his past,” Marvin Alexander told KTVU. “Whatever he was doing, it was the right thing. He loved his job, I know that. He loved his job.”
It’s not clear what crimes Alexander was convicted of, but he served 23 years in prison, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. His brother told the paper his last sentencing was likely over a gang-related homicide.
He walked out of San Quentin a few days after Christmas 2022.
The killing has left those at Urban Alchemy stunned and scared, Montejano said. Alexander was at least the third Urban Alchemy employee shot on the job, according to the Chronicle.
“It’s a tight-knit team. There’s definitely some fear amongst Urban Alchemy practitioners right now. It’s very easy to see themselves in Mr. Alexander,” Montejano said.
In addition to his brother, Alexander leaves behind two sons.
“Our ambassadors dedicate their lives to the work of helping those on the street. Joey Alexander gave his life for it,” Mayor Daniel Lurie wrote on X Wednesday.
