Oakland’s celebrated former football coach John Beam died Friday (November 14). Beam was featured in the Netflix series ‘Last Chance U’ that showcased his success with players others wouldn’t gamble on. He passed away a day after being shot on the college campus where he worked.
Beam’s shooting came a day after a student was shot at Oakland’s Skyline High School. The student is in stable condition. The mayor said the back-to-back shootings on Oakland campuses demonstrate “the gun violence crisis playing out in real time.”
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John Beam Died In Targeted Attack, Police Say
Police arrested the 27-year-old suspect in Beam’s shooting on Friday. Authorities said Cedric Irving Jr. knew the 66-year-old coach, and it was a targeted attack, per the Associated Press. Also, police said the shooting happened on Thursday before noon. That day, officers arrived to find Beam shot.
Oakland Assistant Chief James Beere said the suspect went on campus for a “specific reason” but did not elaborate on what that was. “This was a very targeted incident,” he said.
Beere did not say how Beam and the suspect knew each other. However, he said the suspect was known to loiter around the Laney campus. Additionally, Beam had previously worked at Skyline High School, and the suspect had played football there. However, the suspect was on the team after Beam had already left for another job.
How Did Police Catch The Shooter & What’s Next?
Authorities credited technology, specifically cameras at the college campus, private residences and on public transit, in tracking the suspect. Police arrested Irving without incident at a commuter rail station in Oakland just after 3 a.m. on Friday. Cops recovered the gun.
Irving Jr. was being held at a local jail on charges of murder and carrying a concealed weapon, according to Alameda County’s inmate locator. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday morning. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Family & ‘Last Chance U’ Players Speak Out
Beam’s family said in a statement that he was a “loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, coach, mentor and friend.” “Our hearts are full from the outpouring of love,” the family said, requesting privacy.
Netflix docuseries’ ‘Last Chance U’ focused on athletes at junior colleges striving to turn their lives around. John Beam’s Laney College Eagles starred in the 2020 season. Beam developed deep relationships with his players while fielding a team that regularly competed for championships.
Two of Beam’s former players — brothers Nahshon and Rejzohn Wright posted on social media after the shooting. The Wrights are now in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints, respectively. “You mean the world to me,” Rejzohn Wright said in a post with a photo of Beam. Meanwhile, his brother shared a photo of the coach alongside a broken heart emoji.
Beam, who was serving as athletic director, joined Laney College in 2004 as a running backs coach. He became head coach in 2012, winning two league titles. He retired from coaching in 2024 but stayed on at the school to shape its athletic programs. According to his biography on the college’s website, at least 20 of his players went on to the NFL.
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Associated Press writers Mike Catalini, Haven Daley, and Hannah Schoenbaum contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
