John Beam, a 66-year-old junior school soccer coach who gained fame at Laney College in Oakland, California, through the closing season of Netflix‘s “Last Chance U,” died from gunshot woulds after being shot Thursday on campus, in response to the Oakland Police Department.
The 27-year-old gunman was arrested early Friday morning at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in San Leandro, California, Oakland police stated, according to The New York Times.
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Police Chief Floyd Mitchell introduced Beam’s loss of life at a information convention Friday, according to The Associated Press, which additionally reported that Assistant Chief James Beere stated that though the suspect in custody and Beam weren’t shut, they knew different. Beere referred to as it “a very targeted incident,” per the AP.
Beere added that the suspect had performed soccer at Skyline High School however not whereas Beam labored there earlier than his Laney College days, in response to the AP.
The taking pictures reportedly occurred on the soccer facility on Laney College’s campus, the place Beam labored as head coach since 2012 earlier than stepping down in 2024. He had remained the college’s athletic director.
The Peralta Community College District initially despatched an emergency alert saying an lively shooter was on campus, however later clarified just one particular person was shot. A subsequent assertion didn’t straight determine Beam, describing him solely as a senior member of the athletic employees, however stated he had been transported to the hospital.
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From KTVU:
“A senior member of our athletic staff was shot on campus in the Laney Field House. The individual was immediately transported to a local hospital, and we are keeping them — and their loved ones — in our hearts during this incredibly difficult time. Out of respect for their privacy, we are not releasing their name at this moment,” the school stated.
John Beam gained fame, and respect, in “Last Chance U.” (David M. Barreda / Los Angeles Times by way of Getty Images)
(Los Angeles Times by way of Getty Images)
Beam was a widely known determine within the Bay Area soccer neighborhood, and his efforts had been documented on “Last Chance U” in 2020. Unlike different seasons of the present, Beam was portrayed as an empathetic coach relentlessly devoted to his gamers, and one who obtained outcomes. Before Laney, he recorded a 160-33-3 file as Skyline’s soccer coach.
Between the 2 jobs, Beam had seen over 20 gamers attain the NFL. In an eerie coincidence, a scholar was reportedly shot at Skyline lower than 24 hours earlier.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee launched a press release Thursday, by way of the Times:
“I am heartbroken by today’s shooting at Laney College — the second shooting on an Oakland campus in one week,” Ms. Lee stated. “We should proceed confronting the continued gun violence disaster that’s robbing our neighborhood of security and stealing futures.”