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Suspect Charged in Killing of Laney Coach John Beam as NFL Protégé Honors Him With Pivotal Interception

Prosecutors say Cedric Irving Jr. faces 50 years to life for a targeted campus shooting.

Overview

  • Alameda County prosecutors on Monday charged 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr. with murder and 10 other felonies in John Beam’s death, with arraignment scheduled for Tuesday.
  • Police said Beam, 66, was shot Thursday at Laney College in a targeted attack; Irving, who knew Beam but was not close to him, was arrested early Friday at the San Leandro BART station.
  • Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright, who played for Beam at Laney in 2018, intercepted a J.J. McCarthy pass in the end zone Sunday and dropped to a knee in an emotional tribute.
  • Wright called Beam a father figure, said the coach had phoned him the night before he died, and vowed to deliver the interception ball to Beam’s family after Chicago’s 19-17 win.
  • Beam, a longtime Oakland coach and Laney athletic director featured on Netflix’s Last Chance U, was widely mourned by former players and community leaders for his decades of mentorship.