A 27-year-old worker with the Department of Public Works was shot and killed Wednesday morning in the Mission District while working on a graffiti crew, according to city officials.

Jermaine Jackson Jr. was shot near 8 a.m. at the corner of 25th and Vermont streets, police said, and taken to San Francisco General Hospital two blocks away. He died at the hospital.

“The victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries,” said Giselle Talkoff, a police spokesperson, adding that the police does not have suspect in custody. The motive for the shooting is not known.

In a statement, the director of Public Works, Mohammed Nuru, said the event was “tragic” and one that the department “hoped we’d never have to experience.”

“Jermaine, a father of two young children, a boy and a girl, was a motivated, hard-working and well-liked employee. I have heard from many department heads, the mayor’s office and others from the city family expressing their deep condolences,” he wrote. “My prayers are with his loved ones and friends during this difficult and profoundly sad time.”

Jackson began working as an apprentice with Public Works in March 2015 and would have graduated in mid-2017, according to the department. He was involved in an anti-violence program called Interrupt, Predict, Organize before that, when he got his GED and was recommended to Public Works, the department said.

Friends of the victim arrived at the scene of the shooting near 11 a.m., weeping at news of the death. Many paced back and forth outside the police cordon, smoking cigarettes. One said Jackson was a “good friend.”

“He was just a good person,” said Shante Fox. “He was a good friend.”

Another friend, who did not give her name, said he had been employed with Public Works for about a year and was “hard working every day.” She said it was difficult for Jackson to escape his “background” but that his new job was an attempt at that.

“This man was a very good father, a hardworking individual,” she said through tears.

A neighbor on Vermont Street said he woke up this morning when he heard six to seven shots fired on the block.

“What I heard was boom, boom, boom, boom,” he said. “Like seven, six to seven. I thought what’s going on? I got up and saw police outside.”

The man, who gave only his first name, Raul, said workers with Public Works had been on the street in the week prior cutting trees. Several Public Works trucks were parked near the crime scene, one at the corner where the victim was shot.

Another neighbor who did not wish to be identified also said he heard about six shots fired this morning.

A homicide investigation into the shooting is underway, and Public Works is conducting its own investigation.