College football coach John Beam from `Last Chance U’ has died after being shot

John Beam in a scene from the Netflix documentary series "Last Chance U." (Netflix via CNN Newsource)

Oakland’s celebrated former football coach John Beam, who was featured in the Netflix series “Last Chance U” that showcased his success with players others wouldn’t gamble on, died Friday, a day after being shot on the college campus where he worked.

Police arrested the 27-year-old suspect Friday. Authorities said he knew the 66-year-old coach, and it was a targeted attack.

The shooting at Laney College rattled Oakland, with scores holding a vigil outside the hospital before he died. He was remembered as someone who would help anyone.

Mayor Barbara Lee described Beam as a “giant” in the city who mentored thousands of young people, including her own nephew, and “gave Oakland’s youth their best chance” at success.

“For over 40 years, he has shaped leaders on and off the field, and our community is shaken alongside his family,” Lee said.

Suspect’s brother is stunned

Authorities credited technology, specifically cameras at the college campus, private residences and on public transit, in tracking the suspect identified as Cedric Irving Jr.

Irving was arrested without incident at a commuter rail station in Oakland just after 3 a.m. on Friday and police recovered the gun. He 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.

Irving’s brother, Samuael Irving, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was stunned to learn of the arrest and that his brother excelled academically and athletically in high school, where he ran track and played football. The brother said Cedric grew distant from the family in recent years after an argument with their father. Irving recently lost his job as a security guard after an altercation, his brother said, and then was evicted from his apartment.

“I hope it isn’t him,” Samuael Irving said quietly. “The Cedric I knew wasn’t capable of murder -- but the way things had been going, I honestly don’t know.”

Police said the shooting happened Thursday before noon, and 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 but said the suspect was known to loiter around the Laney campus. The suspect had played football at a high school where Beam had worked but not at the time the coach was employed there.

Few other details were available. It was the second shooting in two days at a school in Oakland.

Coach had deep relationships with players

The Netflix docuseries focused on athletes at junior colleges striving to turn their lives around, and 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, now in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints -- posted on social media after the shooting.

“You mean the world to me,” Rejzohn Wright said in a post with a photo of Beam.

His brother shared a photo of the coach alongside a broken heart emoji.

Piedmont Police Chief Fred Shavies, who previously served as a deputy chief in the Oakland Police Department said he was a friend, mentee and long time admirer of Beam.

“John was so much more than a coach,” he said. “He was a father figure to thousands of not only men but young women in our community.”

Shavies said he met Beam when he was in the eighth grade, and he supported him after Shavies lost his father in high school, calling him “an absolutely incredible human being.” He asked how did Beam leave his mark on so many people “with just 24 hours in a day, right?”

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.

Beam, who was serving as athletic director, joined Laney College in 2004 as a running backs coach and 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.

Beam’s shooting came a day after a student was shot at Oakland’s Skyline High School. The student is in stable condition. Beam had previously worked at Skyline High School, and the suspect had played football there after Beam had already left for another job.

The mayor said the back-to-back shootings on Oakland campuses demonstrate “the gun violence crisis playing out in real time.” She gave no indication that they were connected.

Mike Catalini and Haven Daley, The Associated Press

Catalini reported from Morrisville, Pennsylvania. Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.