"Police identified and arrested a suspect shortly before announcing Beam's death. The suspect played football at Skyline High School, where Coach Beam worked before Laney, but they did not overlap. Oakland police said the suspected shooter "was on campus for a specific reason," as opposed to an "active shooter" situation. "This was a very targeted incident," acting police chief James Beere told reporters on November 13."
""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 wrote. "Schools should be the safest spaces in our city. We need guns off our streets now. We are standing together, praying for Coach Beam and his loved ones.""
Coach John Beam died on November 14, a day after being shot at Laney Community College in Oakland. Police identified and arrested a suspect shortly before announcing Beam's death. The suspect had played football at Skyline High School, where Beam previously worked, but their tenures did not overlap. Oakland police said the suspected shooter "was on campus for a specific reason," and described the event as a targeted incident rather than an active-shooter situation. Beam served as Laney's athletic director since 2006 and head football coach from 2012 to 2024. Beam appeared in the fifth and final football season of Last Chance U. Mayor Barbara Lee called Beam a mentor and urged removal of guns from the streets.
Read at Vulture
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]