The father of a city worker who was murdered inside his Mattapan home over the weekend said he’d urged his son to flee Boston last December, when his son was shot and wounded en route to work.

Alexander Allen’s son and namesake, Alexander J. Allen, a longtime employee in the Public Works department, was shot multiple times on Saturday, his 55th birthday.

Standing on the stoop of his home on Monday, the elder Allen recalled the December shooting.

“Somebody was waiting for him,’’ he said.

Allen said he urged his son to leave Boston because he believed that whoever had wounded him would stalk him again. He said his son had recently given serious thought to his father’s advice and was planning to go to Florida.

“He was just about to leave . . . and before he can leave, this happened,’’ he said.

The younger Allen was shot multiple times at about 11:15 p.m. Saturday in his Manchester Street home and was later pronounced dead at a Boston hospital.

On Dec. 14, Allen was shot and wounded while driving a city car to work. No one was arrested, Boston police said.

When the elder Allen learned that his son had been shot — again — he couldn’t believe it.

“I was here in the house when his wife called me, and said, ‘Your son was shot.’ I said, ‘No. He can’t be shot.’ ’’

The elder Allen, who is a Pentecostal preacher, said he didn’t know why anyone would have wanted to hurt his son.

“My son was a good kid,’’ he said. “He was a very hard worker.’’

A graduate of Curry College, his son had a supervisory role at the Public Works department and was a union shop steward.

“When you’re a supervisor, you know, a lot of people are after you, because some people like you, some people don’t,’’ the elder Allen said. “You can’t regulate who people are.’’

He said he rushed to the hospital where he found his son lying on a stretcher. He wasn’t allowed to touch him, the elder Allen said.

“So I looked at him, looked in his face, and he looked at me,’’ he said. “He opened his left eye. He looked at me . . . . He knew that I was in that room. He knew I was in that room. And I prayed for him.’’

Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross appeared Saturday night at the scene of the slaying, the first homicide since he took over the department, and appealed for the public’s help in solving the case. It was the city’s 33rd homicide of 2018, one more than at the same time last year.

Police spokesman Sergeant John Boyle said an autopsy was set for later Monday, and police wouldn’t publicly identify the victim until after that process was completed.

Jovan Lacet, a friend of Allen’s, called Allen “a solid friend’’ and “a professional gentleman, a good family man.’’

The elder Allen said he has turned to his faith as he confronts the death of his son, and as he considers his son’s killer.

“I’ll forgive him. I will forgive him, and release him from the torment that he’s going to face,’’ he said. “I’m not worried about him, because God takes care of that problem. Once you kill somebody, your life is a living hell.’’

The elder Allen said he will not weep at his son’s funeral.

“I’m not going to cry for my son, because I know he’s safe,’’ he said. “He’s saved by the power of God. They killed him, so they just sealed his salvation. He’s going to God’s country.’’

Manchester Street is a quiet street off Morton Street where Boston police have rarely been called since 2016, according to city dispatch records.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 617-343-4470. Anonymous tips may be called into the CrimeStoppers hotline at 800-494-8477.

John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe .com. Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe .com.