John Beam, the athletic director and former head football coach at Laney College who was a featured character in Netflix’s “Last Chance U” show in 2020, died Friday after being shot in the head on campus Thursday, according to ABC7 News.
He was 66 years old.
He was described as being in critical condition following the shooting before being pronounced dead Friday at 10 a.m., the outlet reported.
Cedric Irving Jr., 27, was arrested for the shooting early Friday morning.
Irving played at Skyline High School, where Beam coached for years, but Irving did not play for Beam, according to Oakland acting police chief James Beere.
Beere said that the two didn’t have a relationship, however Irving allegedly knew of the longtime coach, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“My thoughts are with Coach John Beam and his loved ones,” Oakland mayor Barbara Lee wrote in an X post early Friday morning. “We are praying for him. Coach Beam is a giant in Oakland — a mentor, an educator, and a lifeline for thousands of young people. For over 40 years, he has shaped leaders on and off the field, and our community is shaken alongside his family.
“This is the second shooting on an Oakland campus in two days, and it is devastating. Schools should be the safest spaces in our city. We need guns off our streets now. We are standing together, praying for Coach Beam and his loved ones.”
