{
  "id": "2025-11-13-laney-college-john-beam-shooting",
  "slug": "laney-college-john-beam-shooting-2025-11-13",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Laney College",
    "shortName": "Laney",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "community-college",
    "alertSystemName": "Peralta Community College District Emergency Alert",
    "enrollment": 9000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-11-13",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Athletic director fatally shot at the fieldhouse; suspect arrested the next morning",
    "headlinePublic": "Athletic director fatally shot at the fieldhouse; suspect arrested the next morning",
    "summary": "On November 13, 2025, [Laney College](https://laney.edu/) athletic director and former football coach John Beam -- widely known from Netflix's 'Last Chance U' -- was shot at the Laney Fieldhouse in Oakland at approximately 11:53 AM PST. The [Peralta Community College District issued an active shooter emergency alert at 12:16 PM PST](https://peraltacitizen.com/2026/02/13/emergency-alerts-sent-over-20-minutes-after-the-laney-college-shooting-raise-concerns/), more than 20 minutes after the shooting, prompting faculty and staff to later question what could have happened in those 20 minutes. Beam died the following morning; suspect [Cedric Irving Jr., 27](https://abcnews.com/US/arrest-made-shooting-coach-john-beam-laney-college/story?id=127528154), was arrested at a San Leandro BART station early on November 14.",
    "outcome": "John Beam, 67, died on November 14, 2025, approximately 10 AM PST, from gunshot wounds. Suspect Cedric Irving Jr. was arrested at approximately 3 AM November 14 and charged with murder. The campus lockdown was lifted at 1:15 PM PST November 13; campus reopened November 14. The 20-plus-minute alert delay became the focus of a February 2026 faculty safety investigation.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 1,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2025-11-13T12:16:00-08:00",
      "channel": "phone-call",
      "verbatimText": "PCCD Alert: an active shooter has been reported at the Fieldhouse. Please avoid the area.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://peraltacitizen.com/2026/02/13/emergency-alerts-sent-over-20-minutes-after-the-laney-college-shooting-raise-concerns/",
      "sourceDescription": "The Citizen (Peralta student newspaper) verbatim transcript of the Rave Mobile automated alert",
      "annotations": [
        "The shooting was reported at approximately 11:53 AM PST; the district's alert was issued at 12:16 PM PST -- a gap of more than 20 minutes",
        "Machine Technology Department Chair Adam Balogh later told district trustees: 'Think about what could have happened in those 20 minutes'",
        "Despite the 'active shooter' label in the alert, police determined this was an isolated targeted attack, not an active-shooter situation -- the campus was locked down as a precaution",
        "Exact wording recovered from The Citizen, which transcribed the automated voice message sent via Peralta's Rave Mobile alert system: 'PCCD Alert: an active shooter has been reported at the Fieldhouse,' ... 'Please avoid the area.'"
      ],
      "characterCount": 89
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2025-11-13T13:15:00-08:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 1) There was a shooting at the Laney College Fieldhouse on November 13, 2025 2) Laney College campus WAS LOCKED DOWN 3) OPD has determined there is NO LONGER AN ACTIVE THREAT 4) LOCKDOWN HAS BEEN LIFTED 5) Laney College is Closed for the Day",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/peraltacolleges/photos/important-announcement1-there-was-a-shooting-at-the-laney-college-fieldhouse-on-/1427985439331668/",
      "sourceDescription": "Peralta Community College District official Facebook and X post after the lockdown was lifted on November 13, 2025",
      "annotations": [
        "The lockdown was lifted at 1:15 PM PST, approximately 82 minutes after the initial shooting and 59 minutes after the alert was issued",
        "Police confirmed the shooting was an isolated incident; no active shooter was at large on campus",
        "The campus was closed for the remainder of the day but reopened on Friday, November 14, 2025"
      ],
      "characterCount": 264
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "Morning, November 14, 2025 PST",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from CNN, ABC News, and CBS San Francisco reporting confirming John Beam died November 14 and that a campus message was issued to the community",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "On November 13, 2025, [John Beam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Beam), 67, the longtime athletic director and former football coach at [Laney College](https://laney.edu/) in Oakland, was shot at the Laney Fieldhouse on East 8th Street just before noon. Beam had appeared in the final season of Netflix's documentary series [Last Chance U](https://www.netflix.com/title/80091742), which followed Laney's football program, making him a nationally recognized figure. According to Oakland police, officers responded to the Fieldhouse at 11:53 AM PST and found Beam suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to Highland Hospital in critical condition and died the following morning, November 14. The suspect, [27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr.](https://abcnews.com/US/arrest-made-shooting-coach-john-beam-laney-college/story?id=127528154), was described by police as an acquaintance of Beam's with no close relationship; he was arrested at a San Leandro BART station at approximately 3 AM on November 14. The campus was placed on lockdown at 12:16 PM PST -- more than [20 minutes after the shooting](https://peraltacitizen.com/2026/02/13/emergency-alerts-sent-over-20-minutes-after-the-laney-college-shooting-raise-concerns/) -- triggering a faculty investigation and questions about the Peralta Community College District's notification protocols. Machine Technology Department Chair Adam Balogh told district trustees at a subsequent meeting: 'Think about what could have happened in those 20 minutes.' The lockdown was lifted at 1:15 PM PST; the campus closed for the remainder of the day and reopened November 14. [John Beam had voiced concerns about campus safety](https://abc7news.com/post/coach-john-beam-voiced-concerns-oakland-laney-college-safety-day-before-shooting/18167305/) the day before he was shot. The shooting and the alert delay prompted Laney to launch [security upgrades in spring 2026](https://www.ktvu.com/news/john-beam-laney-college-shooting-security-upgrades).",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The Peralta Community College District's active shooter alert was issued more than 20 minutes after the shooting, prompting a faculty-led safety investigation and subsequent security upgrades",
    "John Beam had publicly voiced concerns about campus safety the day before he was shot, as reported by ABC7 San Francisco",
    "Although labeled an active shooter alert, police determined the shooting was an isolated targeted incident; the campus was locked down as a precaution",
    "The shooting and its 20-minute alert delay led directly to campus security upgrades at Laney in early 2026"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 23,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Peralta Community College District IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT (Facebook/X post, lockdown lifted)",
      "url": "https://www.facebook.com/peraltacolleges/photos/important-announcement1-there-was-a-shooting-at-the-laney-college-fieldhouse-on-/1427985439331668/",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "Emergency alerts sent over 20 minutes after the Laney College shooting raise concerns - The Citizen",
      "url": "https://peraltacitizen.com/2026/02/13/emergency-alerts-sent-over-20-minutes-after-the-laney-college-shooting-raise-concerns/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "[UPDATED] John Beam hospitalized after Laney College Fieldhouse shooting - The Citizen",
      "url": "https://peraltacitizen.com/2025/11/13/active-shooter-alert-at-laney-college/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "John Beam: Beloved former football coach featured in Netflix's Last Chance U dies after shooting at Laney College - CNN",
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/14/us/john-beam-laney-college-shooting-hnk",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Shooting at Oakland's Laney College wounds athletic director John Beam - CBS San Francisco",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/laney-college-shooting-fieldhouse-oakland-campus-lockdown/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Coach John Beam dies after being shot at Laney College: Police - ABC News",
      "url": "https://abcnews.com/US/arrest-made-shooting-coach-john-beam-laney-college/story?id=127528154",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Coach John Beam voiced concerns about Oakland Laney College safety a day before shooting - ABC7 San Francisco",
      "url": "https://abc7news.com/post/coach-john-beam-voiced-concerns-oakland-laney-college-safety-day-before-shooting/18167305/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "John Beam's death at Laney College sparks security upgrades on campus - KTVU",
      "url": "https://www.ktvu.com/news/john-beam-laney-college-shooting-security-upgrades",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "shooting",
    "california",
    "oakland",
    "community-college",
    "laney-college",
    "peralta",
    "alert-delay",
    "last-chance-u",
    "netflix",
    "2025",
    "response-time"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}