SANTA MONICA (CNS) – Santa Monica College will conduct classes, support services and business operations online through Sunday following a shooting on a satellite campus that left an employee hospitalized in critical condition.
The shooting at the SMC Center for Media & Design in the 1600 block of Stewart Street, between Olympic Boulevard and Colorado Avenue, occurred on Monday around 9:50 p.m., according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
After a swift investigation, SMPD detectives identified Davon Durell Dean, a 39-year-old college employee, as the suspected shooter.
Officers with the Hawthorne Police Department located the suspect’s vehicle near El Segundo and Aviation boulevards at approximately 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
After a short pursuit, a pursuit intervention technique was used to stop the suspect’s vehicle. Despite the efforts of the Hawthorne Police Department’s Crisis Negotiations Team, Dean was found dead inside his car from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Police said Dean had a history of arrests, including attempted murder in 2011 and assault with a deadly weapon involving a firearm in 2019. Dean only had convictions for misdemeanor property crimes. By law, the college is only able to consider convictions in its hiring decisions and are unaware of an applicant’s arrest history, according to the college.
The college shooting investigation remains ongoing as detectives work to determined the motive leading up to the assault.
All of the college’s campuses were closed Tuesday.
“I am so proud of our detectives who worked tirelessly throughout the night in collaboration with our partners at the Santa Monica College Police Department to identify and locate the suspect in this tragic incident,” Santa Monica Police Department Chief Ramon Batista said.
“Our officers’ commitment to the safety of the Santa Monica community is evident and remains paramount.”
Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call the Santa Monica Police Department at 310-395-9931 or 310-458-8495.
Santa Monica College will be providing counseling and mental/emotional support to students and staff, Superintendent/President Kathryn E. Jeffery said.
“At this heartbreaking time, I urge us all to come together in kindness and compassion as we navigate this unspeakable tragedy,” Jeffery said in a statement.
Employees can call 800-882-1341 to contact the Employee Assistance Service for Education program, which provides free, short-term counseling to SMC employees who may be experiencing emotional distress. The SMC Center for Wellness and Wellbeing can be reached at cww@smc.edu, or 310-434-4503, and a 24- hour student hotline is also available at 800-691-6003.
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