OAKLAND, Calif. – Students at Skyline High School walked out of class on Tuesday to protest gun violence on school campuses, following a shooting last week that left one of their classmates injured.
Back-to-back school shootings
What we know:
One day after the Skyline shooting, a shooting at Laney College on Thursday left longtime football coach and athletic director John Beam dead. Beam, 66, also coached at Skyline High in the 1980s and 1990s.
Students demand change
What they’re saying:
More than 100 students joined the Skyline walkout, escorted by Oakland police officers. Demonstrators chanted, “No more gun violence, no more gun violence.”
Blake Rogers, a Skyline student who organized the protest, said she wants school officials to provide more mental health counseling and be more transparent about shootings on campus.
“I decided to lead and organize a walkout for the school to start preaching for extra mental health services instead of security, for more education on gun violence instead of pushing it under the rug,” Rogers said.
Coach Beam’s death sparks resurrection of gun enhancement charges
The shooting death of legendary football Coach John Beam at Laney College last week prompted the Alameda County District Attorney on Monday to announce she would seek to resurrect mandatory minimum sentences for gun-related convictions, reversing a trend by the ousted DA.
Community mourning
Deandre Forks, a family friend of Beam, said he supports the Skyline students’ efforts.
“Beyond this situation, safety is important for players, students, teachers,” Forks said. “I am not mad at it. I should not have taken this for that to happen.”
The Skyline shooting last Wednesday left one student wounded and resulted in two teens being arrested. Police also recovered two ghost guns on campus.
On Thursday, Beam was shot in the head at the Laney Fieldhouse and died the next day. His alleged killer, 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr., remains in custody.
Forks said that while grieving the loss of his friend, he now plans to be more cautious about his surroundings.