Tributes are pouring in for revered and legendary Oakland football coach John Beam.
Everyone from athletes to community members are honoring beam, who was shot and died yesterday.
The 66-year-old coach molded football players for 45 years, first at skyline high school, then at Laney College.
“I know coach John Beam and I’m really deeply saddened by his tragic death,” said Pastor Michael Wallace, with the Mt Zion Missionary Baptist Church.
On Saturday, an event planned months ago took on more importance after Beam’s death and a shooting at Skyline High School on Tuesday.
The event is a gun buyback where the guns are made into garden tools.
“It’s absolutely critical to have this in our city of Oakland even though gun violence is down in the city of Oakland, in the last three days four days we have been saturated in the news with gun violence senseless gun killings,” Wallace said.
Mayor Barbara Lee came to the event too and she spoke about this moment in Oakland.
“First of all, [we] need to reflect upon his life and legacy and support his family and our community because people are feeling the weight of this and we also need to reflect on how he gave of himself to others,” Lee said.
Police arrested 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr. in connection with Beam’s death. Investigators say Irving knew Beam, but they did not have a relationship.
Source: NBC Bay Area