ARTICLE UPDATE 11/18/25:
Some students from nearby Skyline High School were at Laney College for a field trip when the shooting occurred, making it the second lockdown the students experienced in one week, Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said during a news conference Monday.
The day before the Laney College shooting, a juvenile student was shot inside a bathroom at Skyline. The student survived his injuries.
“That’s unacceptable that we have children in our community who now this is the norm,” said Jones Dickson. “Two days in a row that they’re locked down for gun violence on a campus. I’m not good with that.”
ARTICLE UPDATE 11/17/25:
Laney College athletic director and former head football coach John Beam succumbed to his injuries Friday morning, a day after he was shot on campus, reports On3.
The suspect, 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr., played football at Skyline High School in Oakland where Beam once coached but not when he was a student there. Oakland Assistant Police Chief James Beere said the two knew each other but did not elaborate, according to NBC.
“I will say that coach Beam, although they did not have a close relationship, was open to helping everybody in our community and this is not uncommon for him to have a relationship with someone that he would think needs help,” he told reporters. “In this case, I can just tell you that the individual that was arrested went specifically to the campus for a specific reason.”
An Alameda County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the suspect around 3:15 a.m. Friday at the Bay Area Rapid Transit’s San Leandro Station, which is about eight miles from the campus, and took him into custody without incident.
Surveillance images from the campus and nearby homes and businesses played a key role in Irving’s arrest, police said.
Irving, who has no prior criminal record, has been charged with murder. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.
ARTICLE UPDATE – 11/14/25:
An arrest has been made in the shooting of Laney College athletic director John Beam, Oakland Police said in a statement Friday.
The suspect has been identified as Cedric Irving Jr., according to KRON4. He was reportedly arrested around 3 a.m. Friday when he was spotted at a bus stop.
“I’m grateful to the Oakland Police Department and our dedicated law enforcement partners for their swift work in making an arrest in the shooting of Coach Beam,” Oakland Mayor Babara Lee said in a statement. “This arrest is a testament to the effective collaboration and dedication of our law enforcement community.”
ORIGINAL ARTICLE – 11/14/25:
OAKLAND, Calif. — Laney College’s athletic director John Beam, 66, was shot on campus Thursday, the second shooting in two days at an Oakland school.
The shooting occurred just before noon at a fieldhouse on campus, and sources told ABC 7 that Beam was shot in the head. He was rushed to a local hospital where he is listed in critical condition. The alleged shooter fled the scene and remains at large. The suspect is described as a male of unknown race and wearing dark clothing, according to Oakland Police.
The campus was placed on lockdown following the incident but was lifted shortly after at 1:15 p.m. The school was closed for the rest of the day but reopened Friday.
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Laney College is a public community college and is part of the Peralta Community College District. Laney’s football program was previously featured on the Netflix series ‘Last Chance U’ in 2020, when Beam was the head coach. The docuseries followed junior college athletes looking to turn their lives around.
Beam has been the athletic director at the junior college since 2006 and was the head coach from 2012 through last season.
He is most recognized for his appearance on the Netflix series “Last Chance U” during his time as a coach. The show documents the seasons of junior college football programs, focusing on the players’ histories and their future paths after leaving the two-year institutions.
Second Shooting in 2 Days at Oakland School
The Laney College shooting came a day after a student was shot at Oakland’s Skyline High School, Campus Safety previously reported. The shooting happened inside a school bathroom Wednesday afternoon. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where they are listed in stable condition. Authorities have not said if the two suspects, both juveniles, are students at the school. Two firearms were also recovered by police.
Following the Skyline High School shooting, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee called gun violence in the city a crisis, Local News Matters reports.
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“We will continue working with law enforcement, community partners, and school officials to protect our children and ensure our schools remain sanctuaries of learning, not scenes of violence like today,” she said.
Wednesday’s incident was the third shooting at the school in just over two years. In Sept. 2023, the school was placed in lockdown after reports of shots fired near the campus’ theater area. No one was injured but a gun was recovered. Three juveniles were arrested and charged in connection with the shooting.
