An arrest has been made in Thursday’s shooting of John Beam, a mainstay of the football coaching ranks in the East Bay who was profiled in the Netflix series “Last Chance U,” at Laney College in Oakland, California, authorities said Friday.

The Oakland Police Department did not immediately elaborate on the arrest or what had prompted the shooting, in which Beam was gravely wounded.

Beam, 66, is the community college’s longtime athletic director, having retired last year from more than four decades of coaching at the junior college and high school levels.

An update on his condition was not immediately available from authorities or the college, which said the shooting occurred around noon in the athletics field house, an 18,000-square-foot complex that includes locker rooms, team meeting rooms, a weight facility and classrooms.

Shooting Locks Down Campus

The shooting prompted police to briefly lock down the campus before determining that there was no longer an active threat.

Ken Houston, a City Council member, said in an interview Thursday that Beam was in his office when the shooting happened. “It’s not good in Oakland right now,” he said. “He is a legend in our city.”

Tammeil Gilkerson, the chancellor of the Peralta Community College District, which the school is part of, voiced her anguish over the shooting in a message Thursday to employees. She was president of Laney College when “Last Chance U” was filmed.

“I know our entire community is shocked and deeply concerned for his well-being and stunned that such violence has touched a beloved, respected, and long-standing member of our community,” she wrote. “I recognize that this is being felt deeply by many. These acts of violence are incredibly painful and are individually experienced in many different ways. The notification may also bring up feelings from other incidents that I know, sadly, many of you have experienced.”

Barbara Lee, a former member of Congress who is Oakland’s mayor, said in a statement Friday that she was grateful for the swift work of law enforcement officers in making an arrest.

Earlier this week, a student was wounded and two juveniles were arrested in connection with a shooting at Skyline High School — where Beam once coached.

Revered for his coaching style and winning on the gridiron in Oakland — first at Skyline High and later at Laney College — Beam introduced himself to television audiences on the Netflix series “Last Chance U.”

During its fifth season in 2020, the show followed Beam and the Laney College Eagles, when his face was featured in a promotional image for the series and viewers became acquainted with Beam’s holistic approach to coaching young men, many of whom had rough upbringings.

His penchant for hugging his players and talking to them about the importance of being vulnerable was a departure from some other coaches who had been featured on the show.

“To many young men, especially young men of color, showing your vulnerability is a sign of weakness,” Beam told The New York Times in 2020. “And we’re trying to say: ‘No. It’s not. In fact, it’s a sign of strength. Asking for help is a strength move, a power move.’”

The series, which offered a glimpse into the rough-and-tumble world of junior college football, chronicled the economic plight of many of his players, who used food stamps and bunked together in studio apartments.

Until 2019, the California Community College Athletic Association barred sports programs from providing special food assistance to athletes, rules that caused Beam to bristle.

“When a kid was hungry, I couldn’t go out and get him a Cup O’ Noodles — that was considered an impermissible benefit because I’m giving it to an athlete and not everybody,” Beam said.

Rejzohn Wright, a cornerback for the New Orleans Saints who was also featured on “Last Chance U,” was one of several of Beam’s former Laney College players to pay tribute to him on social media. On Instagram, he shared a photo of Beam placing his hands over his shoulder pads, their heads touching.

“You mean the world to me,” he wrote.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Rylee Kirk, Neil Vigdor and Soumya Karlamangla/Michelle Mishina-Kunz
c. 2025 The New York Times Company