EX-American football coach John Beam has died after being shot on a college campus.
The 66-year-old rose to fame after appearing on the hit Netflix show Last Chance U.
He was hit by a bullet at the fieldhouse at Laney College in Oakland, California, on Thursday afternoon.
Beam was rushed to the hospital after reportedly being shot in the head.
He died of injuries on Friday morning, at around 10 am, the Oakland Police Department has announced.
He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and granddaughters.
The veteran was the athletics director at the school.
Police rushed to the scene on Thursday, but the attacker had already fled.
A suspect, identified as 27-year-old Cedric Irving, was then detained by cops on Friday morning, around 3 am.
He was captured at the San Leandro BART station in possession of a gun that matched the same caliber as the casings found at the scene.
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A motive has yet to be released.
However, police did confirm it was a targeted attack.
“This was a very targeted incident,” Assistant Chief James Beere said during a Friday press conference.
He said that Irving and Beam were known to each other but “didn’t have a relationship” and weren’t close.
Irving had played football in the Bay Area in high school but was never coached by Beam.
Beere didn’t elaborate on the pair’s relationship, but said that Irving had “been known to loiter on or around the campus” and that Beam was “open to helping everybody in our community.”
Beam featured in the fifth season of Last Chance U, coaching the Langley Eagles in 2020.
He became a household name across America for his larger-than-life personality.
The college was locked down after the horrifying incident.
Classes were also cancelled for the remainder of Thursday.
It has since opened up on Friday, with the school in mourning.
Before Beam’s death was confirmed, the school chancellor released a statement saying the school was “devastated by his shooting.”
“We are stunned and heartbroken that such violence has touched our campus and one of the most respected and beloved members of our Laney, Peralta, and Oakland community,” Chancellor Tammeil Gilkerson said.
Counselors are on hand for students and teachers following the terrifying shooting.
The school has security on campus at all times, but they are not armed.
An increased presence was added on Friday following the attack.
Oakland mayor Barbara Lee paid tribute to Beam on Friday, saying she was “heartbroken” by the shooting and noting it was the “second shooting on an Oakland campus in one week.”
“We must continue confronting the ongoing gun violence crisis that is robbing our community of safety and stealing futures,” she said.
Geovanni Valverde, 19, told 7News of the Laney College American football team’s shock over the incident.
“I was shocked. It didn’t feel real. It was really a surreal moment,” he said.
“He recruited all of us to play at Laney. I know it was another opportunity to play football.
“He helped a lot of people go to the NFL. He gave people what they don’t really get.
“How they were raised and stuff.”
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Beam spent four decades coaching football in Oakland before retiring last year.
He then took charge as athletics director, helping turn kids’ lives around.
