Joey Alexander, 60, was fatally shot after confronting a man about drug use near families outside the San Francisco Main Library on Larkin Street late afternoon on Friday, September 26, 2025. Colleagues at Urban Alchemy say Alexander, known as Moe, worked as a community ambassador helping to keep the peace outside the library; he was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in critical condition, underwent multiple surgeries including the amputation of a leg, and died on Tuesday, September 30.

San Francisco police arrested 42-year-old Edmund Lawrence Bowen near the scene. Authorities say prosecutors later pointed to video that allegedly shows Bowen retrieving an object wrapped in red cloth and firing a short-barrel shotgun from roughly 20 feet away; a second person was struck by shrapnel. Investigators recovered a short-barrel shotgun and two shells. Bowen was booked and charged with murder and assault with a firearm, with a firearm enhancement; he remained in custody pending arraignment.

Urban Alchemy staff and city leaders publicly honored Alexander’s work, noting he had rebuilt his life after 23 years in prison and that he is at least the third Urban Alchemy worker shot on duty and the first to be killed. Does anyone have information or witnessed the shooting outside the library that could help clarify what happened?