Legendary “Last Chance U” and college football coach John Beam voiced concerns about security at his school just days before he was tragically gunned down in a “targeted” killing.
The 66-year-old said he had been feeling increasingly unsafe on Laney College’s Oakland campus — particularly regarding security at the college’s field house after a recent fire and nearby break-in — he told the Citizen at the “Taco ’Bout Safety” event on Nov. 12, two days before he was killed.
Beam said security contractors had shown him footage of a theft at the field house, yet no guard intervened, recovered the stolen items, or detained the suspects.
He suggested the inaction may have stemmed from too few guards covering the four colleges within the Peralta Community College District.
“Six guards, four campuses, 24 hours. How does that work?” Beam asked at the event.
The beloved football coach and Netflix star added that he felt more vulnerable since armed deputies had stopped protecting the school.
Laney College ended its contract with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office in 2020 and has relied solely on unarmed security guards since then, the Citizen reported.
On Monday, Alameda County prosecutors announced murder charges against Cedric Irving Jr., 27, for the “targeted” killing of Beam on Nov. 13.
Beam, who was shot in the head while on campus, was rushed to the hospital and died the next morning.
Police identified Irving using campus surveillance footage, and officers arrested him around 3 a.m. that Friday.
Irving allegedly had a “fixation” on Beam and confessed to killing him because he believed the coach had used black magic on him and others, police sources told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Irving played for Skyline High School, where Beam had coached for 22 years.
The two never overlapped on the field, but they knew each other, and Irving was known to “loiter” around the Laney campus, according to Oakland Police Assistant Chief James Beere, who described the shooting as a “very targeted incident.”
The 27-year-old made his first court appearance on Tuesday and was charged with murder and multiple enhancements for allegedly killing the longtime coach.
Irving did not enter a plea and appeared in a self-harm–prevention “modesty garment.”
He is being held without bail, with his next court date scheduled for Dec. 16. If convicted, he faces up to 50 years to life in prison.
Investigators have not yet disclosed a motive for Beam’s death.
The suspect’s brother, Samuael Irving, told NBC Bay Area he was “shocked” to learn his sibling was the gunman.
“It made me tear up,” he said, adding that his brother had cut ties with the family before the shooting.
“I couldn’t believe he would have done such a thing like this. I wish he would have just come to his family for help or advice or anything, because we’re family.”
Samuel said his brother may have practiced with the Laney football team while playing tight end on his varsity squad in 2016 and 2017, but wasn’t certain.
Beam was widely admired for the deep relationships he forged with players and his success in helping them move on to top-tier schools.
He joined Laney’s football staff in 2004, became head coach in 2012, and was featured on the Netflix series “Last Chance U” in 2020. Twenty of his former players went on to play in the NFL.
