Coach John Beam of the Netflix docuseries Last Chance U was shot in the head and killed on Thursday in what police are calling a “targeted incident.” He was 66.
The shooting took place on the Laney College campus in Oakland, California. Police arrested a suspect on Friday; NBC News has identified him as 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr.
“This was a very targeted incident,” said Assistant Chief James Beere of the Oakland Police Department. He said Beam and Irving Jr. were not close and did not elaborate on how they knew each other.
Irving Jr. played football at Skyline High School, but not when Beam coached there from 1987-2003. Irving’s brother said the suspect had practiced with the Laney football team but was never on the team.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee called Beam a “giant” in a statement, writing, “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.”
The incident came the day after a student was shot at Skyline High School.
“This is the second shooting on an Oakland campus in two days, and it is devastating,” wrote Lee. “Schools should be the safest spaces in our city. We need guns off our streets now.”
Beam coached Laney College football, which was featured in the 2020 season of Last Chance U. He retired from coaching in 2024 and continued to work as the college’s athletic director. Last Chance U focused on junior college athletes struggling with difficult life circumstances.
Beam built a formidable college football program that boasted a 90 percent graduation rate and developed several future NFL players.
Two of Beam’s former players during Laney College’s Last Chance U season, brothers Nahshon and Rejzohn Wright of the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints, respectively, paid tribute to the coach on social media.
“You mean the world to me,” wrote Rejzohn with a picture of himself and Beam. Nahshon shared a picture of Beam and his brother captioned with a broken heart emoji.
Beam was a beloved figure in the Bay Area community.
“He’s a tough guy,” said LeRonne Armstrong, a former Oakland police chief who knew Beam well, to The Seattle Times. “You knew how tough he had to be to reach student-athletes who came from broken homes in ways that other people weren’t able to.”
“He is more than a coach, more than a teacher, he’s a true leader,” added Lou Richie, basketball coach at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. “He truly has affected probably more people in Oakland than anyone over the last 40 years.”
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