OAKLAND, Calif. (NewsNation) — A suspect has been arrested in the fatal shooting of college football coach John Beam, who was featured in the Netflix series “Last Chance U,” the Oakland Police Department said Friday.
The suspect has been identified as Cedric Irving Jr., according to NewsNation affiliate KRON sources, who say he was arrested around 3 a.m. Friday, when he was spotted at a bus stop.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee described Beam as a “giant” and a mentor, educator and lifeline for young people.
“For over 40 years, he has shaped leaders on and off the field, and our community is shaken alongside his family,” Lee said.
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.
Two of Beam’s former players — brothers Nahshon and Rejzohn Wright, now in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints — posted on social media after the shooting.
“You mean the world to me,” Rejzohn Wright said in a post with a photo of Beam.
His brother shared a photo of the coach alongside a broken heart emoji.
Beam, who was serving as athletic director, joined Laney College in 2004 as a running backs coach and became head coach in 2012, winning two league titles. According to his biography on the college’s website, 20 of his players have gone on to the NFL.
“The Peralta community is devastated by his shooting and deeply concerned for his well-being. We are stunned and heartbroken that such violence has touched our campus,” Mark Johnson, a spokesperson for Peralta Community College District, said in an emailed statement on Beam’s current medical status.
Beam, 66, was a football coach for 45 years — between Skyline High School and Laney College — before stepping down as Laney’s head coach in 2024. He has held the position of Laney’s athletic director since 2006.
Beam has coached more than 100 players who have moved on to play NCAA Division 1 football, more than 20 of them making it to the NFL. Notable alums of Beam’s programs include Super Bowl 50 champion running back C.J. Anderson (Laney) and two-time Super Bowl champion offensive lineman Marvel Smith (Skyline).
NewsNation affiliate KRON contributed to this report.