The Academy of Art University's famously prickly president, Elisa Stephens, spoke about the recent murder of Luis Armando Prieto, who was killed in North Beach last week be a car fleeing a shooting.

In a statement released yesterday, Stephens described Prieto as a "talented artist, good student and kind person," going on to say, "I would like to express how deeply saddened I am by the loss of one of our students, Luis Armando Prieto, whose life was tragically cut short last Friday. I have reached out to Luis' family to extend my heartfelt condolences and to let them know our thoughts and prayers are with them and Luis' friends during this difficult time."

Prieto was in the process of studying illustration and calligraphy. Stephens described his death as "a terrible loss to the Academy family and to the arts community as a whole."

Oscar Alejandre, 21, of San Pablo, has been arrested and charged with, among other things, second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter. Fidel Bejarano, 24, of Hercules, and Andrea Luna, 22, of Richmond, who were in the car at the time of Prieto's killing, were also arrested and charged.