On Thursday, November 13, 2025, the athletics community at Laney College in Oakland was shaken when longtime football coach and current athletic director John Beam was shot on campus. It was an incident, authorities say, that unfolded just before noon in the college’s fieldhouse.
The campus went into lockdown as police arrived to find Beam wounded. He was rushed to a local hospital in uncertain condition. Acting Oakland Police Chief James Beere confirmed that the incident was isolated and not an active-shooter situation. A suspect in the incident has already been detained. The shooter is described only as a male wearing dark clothing and a black hoodie. There were little further details provided. Meanwhile, the community continues to await updates as the investigation progresses.
The incident comes amid mounting concern over gun violence in Oakland schools and other areas. In the two days preceding Beam's shooting, a separate incident at Skyline High School left a student wounded in another campus shooting. It underscored the urgency of community safety efforts.
Members of Beam’s extended coaching family, former players, and community leaders gathered at the hospital to show support. The shooting’s broader implications for student-athletes, for a community seeking safe spaces, and for the legacy of an institution and its coach are already resonating across Oakland and beyond.
As the shooting investigation unfolds, the broader context sheds light on the significance of this incident. Beam's coaching career spans more than four decades in the Bay Area. He was prominently featured in the Netflix series ‘Last Chance U' in 2020. That was when Laney’s football team earned national attention for its commitment to turning lives around both on and off the field.
Under Beam's leadership, the Eagles captured a California community-college championship in 2018. He became renowned as a mentor and local icon. Our thoughts are with Coach Beam, his family, and the many lives he has touched throughout his career.
