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

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — 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. 

https://apnews.com/article/john-beam-shooting-last-chance-u-oakland-arres
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