A 58-year-old athletic director was wounded at Laney College just one day after a student was shot at a nearby high school
Oakland experienced its second school shooting in as many days Thursday when a man was shot at Laney College near Lake Merritt, sending the campus into lockdown and canceling classes for the remainder of the day. The incident occurred less than 24 hours after a student was wounded in a shooting at Skyline High School, raising urgent questions about safety at educational institutions across the city.
The Oakland Police Department confirmed receiving reports of a shooting at 11:53 a.m. Thursday at the intersection of East 8th Street and 5th Avenue on the Laney College campus. Officers arrived to find a 58-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds inside the Laney Fieldhouse, an athletic facility located near the college’s football and baseball fields.
The victim identified as campus athletic leader
- The Oakland Fire Department identified the victim as a 58-year-old man, though they did not initially release his name publicly. Local news outlet ABC7 later reported the wounded individual as John Beam, who serves as Laney College’s athletic director.
Information about Beam’s condition was not immediately available, though emergency responders transported him from the scene for medical treatment. The athletic director oversees sports programs and facilities at the community college, making him a familiar presence to student athletes and staff members who use the fieldhouse and surrounding athletic areas.
Campus response and ongoing investigation
- The Peralta Community College District, which oversees Laney College, immediately placed the campus on lockdown following reports of the shooting. Students and faculty sheltered in place while law enforcement secured the area and searched for any potential threats.
By 1:02 p.m., roughly an hour after the shooting occurred, district officials notified the campus community that there was no longer an active threat present. Despite the all-clear, administrators canceled all in-person classes for the remainder of Thursday as a precautionary measure. Online classes continued according to their regular schedules, allowing instruction to proceed for students not physically present on campus.
The Oakland Police Department has not made any arrests in connection with the shooting. Investigators are working to determine what led to the violence and whether the shooter had any connection to the college or specifically targeted the athletic director.
The previous day’s violence at Skyline High School
Thursday’s shooting came just one day after another incident rocked Oakland’s educational community. A juvenile student was shot Wednesday at Skyline High School, sustaining injuries that were described as non-life-threatening by authorities.
That shooting took place inside a bathroom at the high school, according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle. The location suggests a degree of premeditation or planning, as bathrooms provide relative privacy compared to hallways or classrooms where more witnesses would be present.
Law enforcement moved quickly in the Skyline case, arresting two suspects who are also minors. The swift apprehension may have prevented additional violence or helped investigators gather crucial evidence about what motivated the attack.
What these incidents mean for Oakland schools
The back-to-back shootings have left Oakland’s educational community grappling with serious concerns about student and staff safety. While school shootings capture national attention when they result in mass casualties, individual shooting incidents like these two still create trauma and fear that ripple through entire communities.
Parents must now weigh the risks of sending their children to schools where violence has occurred or could potentially occur. Students who witnessed the aftermath of either shooting or who knew the victims will likely struggle with anxiety and stress that can interfere with their ability to learn. Faculty and staff face the challenge of maintaining educational environments while remaining vigilant for potential threats.
Community colleges like Laney serve diverse populations including traditional college-age students, older adults returning to education and high school students taking concurrent enrollment classes. This mix means that violence on campus potentially affects people across multiple generations and life stages.
Questions about prevention and security
The proximity of these two shootings raises questions about what measures schools can take to prevent such incidents. Many educational institutions have invested in security cameras, controlled access points and school resource officers, yet determined individuals can still find ways to bring weapons onto campuses.
Some advocates push for metal detectors and more intensive screening, while others argue such measures create prison-like environments that harm the learning atmosphere. Finding the right balance between security and maintaining welcoming educational spaces remains an ongoing challenge for administrators.
Source: This article is based on reporting by Garrett Leahy for the San Francisco Standard, with additional information from ABC7 and the San Francisco Chronicle.