Overview

• Joey Alexander, 60, died after he was shot on the job outside San Francisco’s Main Public Library following a request that a man stop using drugs near the entrance.
• District Attorney Brooke Jenkins charged Edmund Bowen, 42, with murder, assault with a firearm, and a firearm‑use enhancement and plans to seek his detention without bail at Friday’s arraignment.
• Jenkins said video shows Bowen retrieving and firing a short‑barrel shotgun at Alexander, and a second person was injured by shrapnel during the attack.
• Urban Alchemy mourned Alexander and said it will continue deploying unarmed practitioners, noting this is the organization’s first on‑duty death after previous shootings of staff.
• The case renews debate over the city’s outreach strategy, with a Stanford study reporting large crime reductions where Urban Alchemy operates even as the group faces oversight scrutiny and as Jenkins cites SFPD staffing shortfalls.