John Beam, a mainstay of the football coaching ranks in the East Bay who was profiled in the Netflix series “Last Chance U,” was gravely wounded on Thursday in a shooting at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., according to Ken Houston, a city councilman.
Mr. Beam, 66, is the community college’s longtime athletic director, having retired last year from more than four decades of coaching at the junior-college and high school levels.
Information about his condition was not immediately available from the authorities or the college, which said the shooting occurred around noon in the athletics field house, an 18,000-square-foot complex that includes locker rooms, team meeting rooms, a weight facility and classrooms.
A motive was not given for the shooting, which prompted the Oakland Police Department to briefly lock down the campus before determining that there was no longer an active threat. The campus, in downtown Oakland, remained closed.
Mr. Houston said in an interview that Mr. Beam was in his office when the shooting happened. “It’s not good in Oakland right now,” he said. “He is a legend in our city.”
At a news conference on Thursday afternoon, James Beere, the city’s assistant police chief, said investigators were searching for a potential suspect, whom he described as a man wearing a black hoodie and dark clothes.
In a statement, the Peralta Community College District, which the school is part of, said the victim, a senior member of the athletic staff it did not name, was immediately taken to a local hospital.
“This is a frightening moment for our community,” the statement said.
Barbara Lee, a former congresswoman who is Oakland’s mayor, said in a statement on Thursday that police were investigating.
“I am heartbroken by today’s shooting at Laney College — the second shooting on an Oakland campus in one week,” Ms. Lee said. “We must continue confronting the ongoing gun violence crisis that is robbing our community of safety and stealing futures.”
A day earlier, a student was wounded and two juveniles were arrested in connection with a shooting at Skyline High School — where Mr. Beam once coached.
Revered for his coaching style and winning on the gridiron in Oakland — first at Skyline High and later at Laney College — Mr. Beam introduced himself to television audiences on the Netflix series “Last Chance U.”
During its fifth season in 2020, the show followed Mr. Beam and the Laney College Eagles, when his face was featured in a promotional image for the series and viewers became acquainted with Mr. Beam’s holistic approach to coaching young men, many of whom had rough upbringings.
His penchant for hugging his players and talking to them about the importance of being vulnerable was a departure from some other coaches who had been featured on the show.
“To many young men, especially young men of color, showing your vulnerability is a sign of weakness,” Mr. Beam told The New York Times in 2020. “And we’re trying to say: ‘No. It’s not. In fact, it’s a sign of strength. Asking for help is a strength move, a power move.’”
The series, which offered a glimpse into the rough-and-tumble world of junior-college football, chronicled the economic plight of many of his players, who used food stamps and bunked together in studio apartments.
Until 2019, the California Community College Athletic Association barred sports programs from providing special food assistance to athletes, rules that caused Mr. Beam to bristle.
“When a kid was hungry, I couldn’t go out and get him a Cup O’ Noodles — that was considered an impermissible benefit because I’m giving it to an athlete and not everybody,” Mr. Beam said.
Rylee Kirk reports on breaking news, trending topics and major developing stories for The Times.
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