Former 'Last Chance U' college football coach dies after shooting on California campus

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OAKLAND, CA — A renowned former community college football coach in Northern California, whose championship team starred in a Netflix series, has died after being shot on campus, police said.

John Beam, the current athletic director at Laney College in Oakland, died early Nov. 14, a day after being shot at the campus field house, Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell announced at a news conference hours after an arrest was made in connection with the shooting.

"I know that Coach Beam meant a lot to the Oakland community, and beyond," Mitchell told reporters.

Oakland Police Lt. Gloria Beltran said Alameda County Sheriff's Deputies arrested Cedric Irving Jr., 27, in an Oakland suburb rapid transit station in connection with the shooting. Irving faces possible murder charges, Beltran said.

Beam, 66, who was then head coach of Laney's successful football team, was featured in the final season of the gritty Netflix docuseries "Last Chance U" in 2020. The eight-part series focused on junior college athletes across the country seeking to turn their lives around through sports. The show chronicled Laney's 2019 season after it won the 2018 junior college national championship.

Watch it here: Stream your favorite shows, the biggest blockbusters and more.

Beam retired as Laney's head coach in 2024 to focus on his role as athletic director. He has coached football in Oakland for more than 40 years.

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Police sought public's help in search for shooter

Oakland Police Assistant Chief James Beere said calls of shots fired on campus came in just before noon on Nov. 13. Officers had initially responded to the scene as if there was an active shooter, Beere said, as police temporarily placed the 12,000-student community college on lockdown before lifting it an hour later.

Beere said Irving did know Beam but they did not have a close relationship with each other. Beere this was "a very targeted incident."  

Classes were canceled as police began their investigation. College officials said classes are scheduled to resume on Nov. 14. Beere told reporters during a news conference on Nov. 13 that police had been searching for a man wearing dark clothing and a black hoodie and asked for the public's help in locating a suspect.

'We are stunned and heartbroken'

Laney is the largest community college among the four-campus Peralta Community College District, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. District spokesperson Mark Johnson said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY on Nov. 13 that the Peralta campus community is devastated.

"We are stunned and heartbroken that such violence has touched our campus and one of the most respected and beloved members of our Laney, Peralta, and Oakland community," Johnson said. "John Beam is a renowned coach, teacher, mentor, and leader whose impact extends far beyond athletics."

In the aftermath of the shooting, several players Beam coached took to social media to express their disbelief.

Rejzohn Wright, a cornerback for the NFL's New Orleans Saints who was featured on the "Last Chance U" docuseries while playing at Laney, posted on Instagram on Nov. 13 a photo of himself and Beam on the field with the caption, "You mean the world to me."

Beam recently saw Wright and his brother Nashon Wright, who also played for Beam at Laney and is currently a cornerback for the NFL's Chicago Bears, when the Saints played the Bears in Chicago on Oct. 19. Beam posted the occasion on Instagram.

Second shooting at an Oakland school in 2 days, mayor says

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee echoed similar sentiments on social media on Nov. 13.

"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," Mayor Lee posted on Instagram. Lee added it was Oakland's second shooting on a school campus in two days.

Two suspects were arrested following a shooting that left one student injured at Skyline High School, where Beam once coached its football teams to 15 league championships, 11 section championships, and four undefeated seasons before coming to Laney as an assistant football coach in 2004.

”Schools should be the safest spaces in our city," Lee said. "We need guns off our streets now."