gunshot

Nahshon Wright had just made a huge play for the Chicago Bears, and in spectacular fashion.

The fifth-year cornerback leapt high in full sprint with his hand stretched over his head to intercept a pass by Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the end zone to preserve a 10-3 Bears lead late in the second quarter.

No wild celebration followed. Instead, Wright jogged to the back of the end zone and took a knee in memory of Oakland football legend John Beam, the former football coach at Laney College who died Friday after being shot on campus a day earlier.

“He was watching over me,” Wright, who played for Beam at Laney in 2018, said after the Bears’ 19-17 victory on Sunday . “It’s crazy. He called me the night before he passed and he told me that every game he watched, I just seemed to get a pick. So I just know he was behind me today.”

Just before noon Thursday, the Oakland Police Department responded to reports of gunshots at Laney and found Beam suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to an area hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. At approximately 10 a.m. the next day, Beam was pronounced dead.

Oakland police arrested 27-year-old Oakland resident Cedric Irving Jr. as a suspect in the case early Friday morning at the San Leandro BART station. Irving is a former football player at Skyline High School where Beam once coached, but police said he did not play under Beam.

Former Laney Collegefootball coach John Beam holds the trophy after the Eagles won the California Community College Athletic Assn. championship in 2018.

(Peralta Community College District via Associated Press)

Irving and Beam knew each other but were not close, acting Oakland Police Chief James Beere said Friday at a news conference. Beere added that Irving isn’t a student at Laney but “was on campus for a specific reason” on Thursday.

“This was a very targeted incident,” Beere said.

On Monday, Irving was charged with murder and 10 other felonies related to Beam’s death. Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said during an afternoon news conference that Irving faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted.

Irving is scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday, Jones Dickson said.

Beam coached football in Oakland for more than 40 years. He came to Laney as running backs coach in 2004, was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005 and was head coach from 2012-2024. Upon retirement from coaching, Beam continued to serve as Laney’s athletic director, a post he had held since 2006.

For many of his players and members of the community, Beam was much more than a coach, as seen by viewers of Season 5 of the Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U,” which focused on Beam and the Eagles during the 2019 football season.

“Filming with him at Laney College gave us a firsthand look at his passion, his integrity, and his unwavering commitment to the young men he coached — and to the city of Oakland,” the show’s creator, Greg Whiteley, wrote Friday on X.

Wright told reporters that Beam was “someone I could confide in, someone that I love dearly.” He added that the coach filled a huge void for him and his brother — New Orleans Saints cornerback Rejzohn Wright, who played at Laney in 2018 and 2019 — after the death of their father in 2017.

“Beam stepped in, stepped in as a father figure, a father role,” Nahshon Wright said. “He did a lot for me and my brother, my family. He’s been there. He’s been there every step of the way, and it won’t stop. I gained an angel, for sure.”

In a scene from “Last Chance U,” Laney coach John Beam talks to player Rejzohn Wright.

(Netflix)

Rejzohn Wright reposted a video clip of his brother’s interception and its aftermath on X and wrote: “Long live Coach beam forever with us!”

In an Oct. 19 Instagram post, Beam wrote that he was “in Chicago to watch the brothers battle” as the Bears hosted the Saints. The pride and love Beam felt toward his former players was more than evident in the photos he posted and the words he wrote.

“The Wright Way — always believe and keep grinding, never give up and believe the path will open up,” Beam wrote.

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police in Frisco, Texas, said Thursday. He was 24.

“It is with extreme sadness that the Dallas Cowboys share that Marshawn Kneeland tragically passed away this morning,” the Cowboys said in a statement. “Marshawn was a beloved teammate and member of our organization. Our thoughts and prayers regarding Marshawn are with his girlfriend Catalina and his family.”

The Frisco Police Department said it was called at approximately 10:39 p.m. Wednesday to help the Texas Department of Public Safety to find a vehicle that had entered the city during a pursuit. The state-level law-enforcement agency said in a statement Thursday that it had attempted to stop the vehicle for a traffic violation, but the driver had refused to stop.

The vehicle was soon found unoccupied, crashed on southbound Dallas Parkway near Warren Parkway. A man — later identified as Kneeland, a resident of nearby Plano — was reported to have fled the scene on foot.

Frisco police were told during the search that Kneeland had expressed “suicidal ideations,” the department said in a statement. “Kneeland was later located at 1:31a.m., deceased with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The cause/manner of death will be determined by the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office.”

The Plano Police Department had visited Kneeland’s residence at the request of Frisco police at 11 p.m. Wednesday night but officers were unable to make contact with anyone there. At 11:40 p.m., Plano police said, officers responded to a separate call for a welfare concern associated with Kneeland at the same address, but again were unable to make contact.

Kneeland was selected by the Cowboys out of Western Michigan in the second round of the 2024 draft, less than three months after his mother, Wendy Kneeland, died suddenly of an undisclosed illness. Kneeland told the Dallas Morning News last year that he carried some of his mother’s ashes with him everywhere in a tiny urn on a chain around his neck.

“She helped me a lot in my younger years getting into football,” Kneeland said. “I always had the dream. I always told her, ‘I’m going to the NFL’ and I made it. It’s a hard situation just knowing she got to see me potentially going to the NFL and going through [the process]. She’s still with me. I got this urn of her ashes I carry with me everywhere. I still feel like she’s there watching over me.”

Kneeland played in 18 games, including four starts, and had 26 tackles, four quarterback hits and one sack. On Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals, Kneeland recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for his first NFL touchdown.

“I watched him fight his way from a hopeful kid at Western Michigan with a dream to being a respected professional for the Dallas Cowboys,” Kneeland’s agent, Jonathan Perzley, said in a statement. “Marshawn poured his heart into every snap, every practice, and every moment on the field. To lose someone with his talent, spirit, and goodness is a pain I can hardly put into words.”

Kneeland’s family also released a statement Thursday.

“We are devastated by this tremendous loss and are still processing the depth of our grief,” the family said. “As Marshawn was making his mark on the football field with the Dallas Cowboys, he held an even more special place off the field — as a devoted son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, grandson, and friend. He was kind, determined, humble, and full of love. His light shone brightly in every life he touched, and his spirit will continue to live on through the countless hearts he inspired.”