Jang, a
Christian, emigrated from Korea to
Hawaii in February 1905, and from there to the
continental United States in August 1906. He became involved with the
Korean independence movement while living there, and joined the
Daedong Bogukhoe. In March 1908, infuriated by Stevens' remarks about Japanese rule in Korea, the
Daedong Bogukhoe held a joint meeting with the
Gongnip Hyeophoe, another local association of Koreans of which Jeon was a member. Yang Ju-eun, a fellow member of the association, recalled in a 1974 interview that Jang, in contrast to Jeon, did not say a single word during that meeting; Jang had a reputation as a "quiet and shy Christian gentleman." However, he purchased a gun from his roommate in order to circumvent laws which prevented Asians from owning guns.
On
March 23, 1908, Jeon and Jang approached Stevens at the
Port of San Francisco as he prepared to embark on a ferry to
Oakland to make a rail connection to
Washington, D.C. Jeon fired his
revolver at Stevens first, but missed, and instead rushed at him, using his weapon
as a club to hit Stevens in the face. Jang then accidentally fired into the melee, striking Stevens twice in the back; Jeon was also shot in the confusion. The crowd which had gathered urged that they be
lynched on the spot; Jang was arrested and held without bail on a charge of murder, while Jeon was sent to the hospital for treatment. Some accounts, notably Yang's, state that Jeon only had a toy gun.</bgref> He received news of Stevens' death two days later with "manifest delight".