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SANTA MONICA (CNS) - Santa Monica College will conduct classes, support services and business operations online through Sunday in response to a shooting on a satellite campus that left a female 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 around 9:50 p.m. Monday, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. Police quickly deemed it a case of "workplace violence."
SMPD detectives identified Davon Durell Dean, a 39-year-old college employee, as the suspected shooter, police said. Officers with the Hawthorne Police Department located the suspect's vehicle near El Segundo and Aviation boulevards at approximately 3 p.m. Tuesday.
After a short pursuit, a pursuit intervention technique, or PIT maneuver, was used to stop the suspect's vehicle. The Hawthorne Police Department's Crisis Negotiations Team attempted to coax the suspect out of the car, but Dean was found dead inside the vehicle 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. According to SMC officials, by law, the college is only able to consider convictions in its hiring decisions and is unaware of unaware of an applicant's arrest history.
A motive for the assault remained under investigation. The victim of the shooting has not been identified, but she is believed to be a custodian at the college. Although she and Dean both worked at the college, it was unclear how they knew each other or the nature of their relationship.
The national nonprofit group Uvalde Foundation For Kids announced late Tuesday it had created a fundraising account to support the injured worker, with donations available at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=G88KEWBWBVGA8.
All of the college's campuses were closed Tuesday in response to the shooing.
"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.