John Beam, a mainstay of the football coaching ranks in the East Bay who was profiled in the Netflix series \u201cLast Chance U,\u201d was gravely wounded on Thursday in a shooting at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., according to Ken Houston, a city councilman.<\/p>\n
Mr. Beam, 66, is the community college\u2019s longtime athletic director, having retired last year from more than four decades of coaching at the junior-college and high school levels.<\/p>\n
Information about his condition was not immediately available from the authorities or the college, which said the shooting occurred around noon in the athletics field house, an 18,000-square-foot complex that includes locker rooms, team meeting rooms, a weight facility and classrooms.<\/p>\n
A motive was not given for the shooting, which prompted the Oakland Police Department to briefly lock down the campus before determining that there was no longer an active threat. The campus, in downtown Oakland, remained closed.<\/p>\n
Mr. Houston said in an interview that Mr. Beam was in his office when the shooting happened. \u201cIt\u2019s not good in Oakland right now,\u201d he said. \u201cHe is a legend in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a news conference on Thursday afternoon, James Beere, the city\u2019s assistant police chief, said investigators were searching for a potential suspect, whom he described as a man wearing a black hoodie and dark clothes.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Peralta Community College District, which the school is part of, said the victim, a senior member of the athletic staff it did not name, was immediately taken to a local hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a frightening moment for our community,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
Barbara Lee, a former congresswoman who is Oakland\u2019s mayor, said in a statement on Thursday that police were investigating.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am heartbroken by today\u2019s shooting at Laney College \u2014 the second shooting on an Oakland campus in one week,\u201d Ms. Lee said. \u201cWe must continue confronting the ongoing gun violence crisis that is robbing our community of safety and stealing futures.\u201d<\/p>\n