News out of California

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

John Beam, the current athletic director at Laney College in Oakland, remains hospitalized following the shooting at the school near downtown on Nov. 13. School officials said the shooting occurred at the campus fieldhouse. Police say an unidentified shooter remains at large. Authorities have not described Beam's condition.

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 national championship.

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.

Police ask for public's help in search for shooter

Acting Oakland Police Chief James Beere said calls of shots fired on campus came in just before noon. 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.

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 that police are searching for a man wearing dark clothing and a black hoodie.

"We’re currently asking the public’s help in locating a suspect," Beere said.

'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 by Beam's shooting and deeply concerned for his well-being.

"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. Our thoughts are with him and his family."

In the aftermath of the shooting, players who were once coached by Beam took to social media to express their disbelief and ask for prayers for their former coach.

Rejzohn Wright, a cornerback for the New Orleans Saints, posted on Instagram a photo of him and Beam on the field with the caption "You mean the world to me."

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

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee echoed similar sentiments on social media on Nov. 13 that the city is standing together, praying for Beam and his loved ones.

"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."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former 'Last Chance U' college football coach shot on California campus

Reporting by Terry Collins and Christopher Cann, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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