Gunman accused of killing Netflix football coach John Beam facing 50 years in prison after on-campus shooting

The man accused of killing legendary college football coach John Beam is facing at least 50 years in prison after being charged with multiple crimes, according to reports.

Cedric Irving Jr, 27, was taken into custody early Friday morning after allegedly shooting the 66-year-old athletic director dead on campus at Laney College in Oakland.

One day out from his arraignment, the Mercury News is reporting that Irving has been charged with murder and an enhancement alleging he personally discharged a firearm, as well as additional enhancements for allegedly targeting a 'vulnerable' victim and causing great bodily harm.

Authorities have not yet revealed a suspected motive. Irving is currently being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail and will appear in court for the first time on Tuesday. 

Beam, who starred in Netflix's college football docuseries 'Last Chance U' in 2020, is believed to have been shot in the head by Irving Jr. near the fieldhouse at Laney College, where he was working as the school's athletic director, on Thursday.

He was rushed to hospital immediately but later succumbed to his injuries. Irving Jr. was taken into custody without any altercation at around 3am on Friday morning after being apprehended at San Leandro BART station.

Police credited technology, specifically cameras at the college campus, private residences and on public transit, with helping arrest Irving Jr. They also confirmed that a gun has been recovered.

Oakland Assistant Chief James Beere revealed Friday that Irving Jr. was known to loiter around Laney's campus. He added that Irving Jr. was on campus for a 'specific reason' but did not elaborate further. 'This was a very targeted incident,' he said.

Irving Jr. played football at Skyline High School, where Beam once worked, but not at the same time the coach was employed there. He played tight end for the school's varsity team in 2016 and 2017.

Irving Jr.'s brother, Samuael, broke his silence on the harrowing events last Friday and said he was 'shocked' and heartbroken.

'Hearing about my brother's arrest shocked me a lot,' Samuael told NBC Bay Area.

'It made me tear up. I couldn't believe he would have done such a thing like this. I wish he would have just came to his family for help or advice or just anything because we're family.'

Samuael also told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was stunned to learn of the arrest and that his brother excelled academically and athletically in high school, where he ran track and played football.

Irving Jr. recently lost his job as a security guard after an altercation, his brother said, and then was evicted from his apartment. 'I hope it isn't him,' Samuael said quietly. 

'The Cedric I knew wasn't capable of murder - but the way things had been going, I honestly don't know.'

Samuael also revealed he was the one who told his parents of their son's arrest and they were just as shocked. 

NBC Bay Area visited an address listed for Irving Jr.'s father in Ashland and a man on the brink of tears told them: 'I don't want to talk right now, OK, because I mean I don't know what's going on and until all the facts come out cause I don't know what's going on.' 

Samuael added that his brother became distant after he left school. 'Everything changed after he graduated,' he said. 'Showed a lot of animosity towards me, even his brother since we were kids.'

The alleged gunman's sibling also revealed he last spoke to his brother about five months ago and he had stopped calling him and his parents. He did not know he owned a gun.

NBC Bay Area also revealed that at Irving Jr.'s last listed address - in the Lockwood Gardens affordable housing community in Oakland - his apartment stands empty with belongings piled up outside.