THE gunman who shot and killed Netflix football coach John Beam on a college campus intentionally targeted him, cops have said.
Beam, who featured on the hit Netflix show Last Chance U, was shot in the head near the football field at Laney College in Oakland, California, on Thursday afternoon.
Oakland Police Department announced that he died from his injuries on Friday morning and that they had a suspect in custody.
They arrested 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr, who they now believe intentionally targeted the beloved husband, father, and grandfather.
The 66-year-old was athletics director at the school and cops have revealed chilling details about Irving Jr. and his connection to the college.
Oakland Assistant Police Chief James Beere said Irving Jr. was at the campus that day for “a specific reason” and added it was “a very targeted incident”.
He added that the suspect would “loiter around the campus” despite not being a student at Laney College.
It was also revealed that the suspect played football at Oakland’s Skyline High School in 2017, where Beam previously worked.
However, Beam was not employed there at the time.
But, the attack on the veteran coach came just one day after a student from the high school was shot there.
That student is said to be in a stable condition.
Irving Jr. was booked in early Friday morning in connection with the shooting of the football coach.
He was taken in without incident and a gun was recovered, Beere said.
According to cops, the suspected gunman was seen by a sheriff deputy in the early hours of Friday morning at the San Leandro BART station.
He was allegedly carrying two duffle bags, per Fox News affiliate KTVU.
Beere said at a press conference on Friday that the suspect knew Beam “but they did not have a relationship”.
Charges against Irving Jr. are pending and no clear motive has yet been revealed.
At the press conference, Beere made clear that they know the shooting was not motivated by a robbery.
“I will say that Coach Beam was open to helping everybody in our community,” Beere said.
“And this is not uncommon for him to have a relationship with someone that he would think needs help.
“In this case, I can just tell you that the individual that was arrested went specifically to the campus for a specific reason.”
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/sport/15497333/netflix-football-coach-john-beam-targeted-shooting-suspect/
