Coach John Beam dies after being shot at Laney College: police

Legendary former football coach John Beam died Friday morning after being shot on the campus of Laney College in Oakland, California, on Thursday, the Oakland Police Department said, as authorities announced the arrest of a suspect.

Beam, who appears on Netflix’s “Last Chance U,” is a Bay Area football legend and had coached the sport for more than 40 years before becoming solely the school’s athletic director last year.

Beam was at Laney Fieldhouse when he was shot shortly before noon Thursday, authorities said. The alleged shooter fled the scene.

Police reviewed surveillance footage and at 3:15 a.m. Friday, a person matching the suspect’s description was seen at a Bay Area rapid transit station and was taken into custody, Oakland police said.

Police did not discuss a possible motive.

The suspect, Cedric Irving, 27, knew the coach, but “they had no relationship,” police said. Irving played high school football in the Bay Area, but never played for Beam.

Irving did not attend Laney College or work at the university, but he went to campus “for a specific reason” and “is known to loiter on or around campus,” police said.

Oakland police said the department did not know Irving.

A gun recovered from the suspect is the same caliber as the casings and bullets recovered at the crime scene, police added.

Beam, who was hospitalized in critical condition, died around 10 a.m. Friday, said Gloria Beltran of Oakland police.

Piedmont Police Chief Frederick Shavies called the coach an “absolutely incredible human being.”

“Our hearts hurt,” Shavies said at Friday’s news conference.