The community of Santa Monica College is in shock after a suspect connected to a shooting on the campus was found dead following an hours-long standoff with SWAT teams. Davon Durell Dean, a 39-year-old employee of the college, was named as the assailant who critically wounded a co-worker at the college's Center for Media and Design before succumbing to a self-inflicted gunshot. The shooting took place at approximately 9:15 p.m. Monday and left the victim, a long-time employee and custodial operations manager, in critical condition, as reported by KTLA.
Authorities tracked Dean's vehicle to El Segundo on Tuesday afternoon, which led to a pursuit and successful containment by police forces. After refusing to cooperate and barricading himself, Dean fatally shot himself, as confirmed by Santa Monica Police. The grim result brought the manhunt to a close, though the aftermath continues to reverberate through the college and its surrounding communities. Dean's checkered past with law enforcement included arrests for attempted murder in 2011 and an assault with a deadly weapon in 2019, but he was only convicted of misdemeanor property crimes, noted ABC7.
As the college grapples with the incident's fallout, students have expressed frustration over the lag in receiving alerts about the shooting. "It's absolutely ridiculous. It could've been one of us," Andre Sajadi, a student, told KTLA. Despite the isolated nature of the incident, with no current threat to the public reported, the community's sense of safety has understandably been rattled. Santa Monica Police have called for anyone with information regarding the shooting to reach out at 310-395-9931.
