'Last Chance U' coach John Beam dies after being shot, police say - ESPN

OAKLAND, Calif. — College football coach John Beam, who was featured in the Netflix series «Last Chance U,» has died after being shot on campus, the Oakland Police Department said Friday, and a suspect has been arrested.

Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell announced the coach's death Friday, one day after the shooting.

«This was a very targeted incident,» Assistant Chief James Beere said, adding that the suspect and Beam knew each other and although they weren't close, the coach was «open to helping everybody in our community.»

Beere did not elaborate on how they knew each other or why the suspect was on campus, saying the suspect played football at Oakland's Skyline High School but not when Beam worked there. Beere said the suspect was known to «loiter» around the campus. The suspect was taken into custody without any altercation and a gun has been recovered, the assistant chief added.

Charges were still pending, police said.

Authorities credited technology, specifically cameras at the college campus, at private residences and on public transit, with helping them arrest the suspect, who was not named.

Few other details were available. It was the second shooting at a school in Oakland in two days.

The Netflix docuseries focused on athletes at junior colleges striving to turn their lives around, and Beam's Laney College Eagles starred in the 2020 season. Beam came across as competitive, but he also seemed to form connections with his players.

Piedmont Police Chief Fred Shavies, who previously served as a deputy chief in the Oakland Police Department, said he was a friend, mentee and longtime admirer of Beam.

«John was so much more than a coach,» he said. «He was a father figure to thousands of not only men but young women