Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, US News, Crime, California
Ellie Kemp
John Beam, the coach from the Netflix documentary series Last Chance U, has been shot.
Police were called to Laney College in Oakland, California on Thursday afternoon (November 13).
The 66-year-old football coach was shot on the college's athletics department and was in critical condition on Thursday evening, the Peralta Community College District said.
Authorities are now seeking the public's help in locating the potential suspect, who is on the run.
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He was last seen wearing dark clothing, police said. A suspected motive has not been disclosed.
The college was put on lockdown as police responded to a suspected active shooting. The campus was later declared safe.
The Peralta Community College District added: "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.
"John Beam is a renowned coach, teacher, mentor, and leader whose impact extends far beyond athletics. Our thoughts are with him and his family."
Thursday's shooting is the second at an Oakland campus this week, Mayor Barbara Lee noted. A teenager was shot at a high school Wednesday.
In a statement, Lee said: "The last two days have been incredibly heavy for our city. My thoughts are with Coach John Beam and his loved ones. We are praying for him."
Lee added in part that schools should be places of safety in the city, and that 'we need guns off our streets now.'
Beam is the college's current athletic director, having spent some 45 years coaching football in the area.
He joined Laney College as a coach in 2004, then became offensive coordinator and in 2012 became head football coach.
Under his leadership, the Laney Eagles football team captured the 2018 California Community College Athletic Association state championship - their first in school history - and built a reputation for helping players transfer to four-year universities and colleges and professional programs.
In addition to coaching, Beam served as the college’s athletic director. In late 2024 he announced his retirement, though remained involved in athletics administration.
He prominently featured in Last Chance U's fifth season, which aired on Netflix in 2020.
The series follows junior college (JUCO) American football programmes - teams of college athletes often with troubled pasts, or who need a 'last chance' to re-establish their path toward Division I university football or professional dreams.
For players who didn’t go directly to major universities, JUCO programmes like Laney provide a major lifeline.