Campus Alert Archive
SMC

Workplace Shooting at SMC's Center for Media and Design Kills Custodial Manager; Suspect Found Dead the Next Day

CAshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On October 14, 2024, an SMC employee shot a coworker at the Center for Media and Design satellite campus on Stewart Street at approximately 9:50 PM PDT. The victim, Custodial Operations Manager Felicia Hudson, 54, died from her injuries on October 16. The suspect, Davon Durell Dean, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound the following day.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
Santa Monica College
Community College · CA
~30,000 studentsSMC Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPush
Approximate reconstruction208 chars
SMC ALERT: A shooting has occurred at the Center for Media & Design, 1660 Stewart Street. The suspect has fled the scene. All SMC campuses are currently safe. Avoid the CMD campus area. Police are responding.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from SMC official announcements; the shooting occurred at approximately 9:50 PM PDT at the CMD satellite campus
The Center for Media and Design is a satellite campus located at 1660 Stewart Street, separate from SMC's main campus
The suspect fled the scene before police arrived, making it initially unclear whether there was an ongoing threat
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstructionSanta Monica College official announcement293 chars
Santa Monica College Update: All Santa Monica College campuses will be closed on Tuesday, October 15, to prioritize the safety and well-being of our community following the shooting incident at the Center for Media & Design. Counseling services will be available. The suspect remains at large.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from SMC's official campus closure announcement; all campuses were closed as a precaution
The suspect had not yet been located at the time of this announcement
Counseling and support services were made available to the campus community
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstructionSanta Monica College official announcement215 chars
Santa Monica College Update: SMPD has identified the suspect in last night's shooting as Davon Durell Dean, an SMC employee. The suspect has been located deceased. There is no ongoing threat to the campus community.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from SMC's official announcement; Hawthorne Police located Dean's vehicle near El Segundo Blvd at approximately 3:00 PM PDT
Dean was found deceased inside his vehicle from a self-inflicted gunshot wound
Dean had prior arrests including attempt murder in 2011, though his only convictions were for misdemeanor property crimes
Context

Background

On the evening of October 14, 2024, an SMC employee opened fire at the Center for Media and Design, a satellite campus at 1660 Stewart Street in Santa Monica, at approximately 9:50 PM PDT. The victim, Custodial Operations Manager Felicia Hudson, 54, was critically injured and later died from her injuries on October 16. The suspect, identified as Davon Durell Dean, another SMC employee, fled the scene. All Santa Monica College campuses were closed on October 15 while the suspect remained at large. That afternoon, Hawthorne Police located Dean's vehicle near El Segundo Boulevard and used a pursuit intervention technique to stop it. Dean was found deceased inside from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The SMC president described the incident as a workplace violence event, not a random act. Dean had a history of prior arrests, including for attempted murder in 2011, though his only convictions were for misdemeanor property crimes. The incident was the second deadly shooting in Santa Monica College's history, following a mass shooting on campus in 2013.
Analysis

Key Findings

The shooting was a workplace violence incident between employees, not a random attack on students
The suspect fled the scene and was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound the following day, leaving campus on alert overnight
All SMC campuses were closed for a full day while the suspect remained at large, a significant operational disruption for a community college serving 30,000 students
Outcome
Felicia Hudson, 54, died at a local hospital on October 16 from her injuries. The suspect, Davon Durell Dean, an SMC employee, fled the scene and was located by Hawthorne Police on October 15 at approximately 3:00 PM PDT, deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his vehicle. All SMC campuses were closed on October 15.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Shooting at the Center for Media & Design (Santa Monica College)
    smc.edu
  2. Official
    CMD Campus Shooting: Update (Santa Monica College)
    smc.edu
  3. Official
    Santa Monica College Employee Has Died From Shooting Injuries (Santa Monica College)
    smc.edu
  4. News
    Santa Monica College employee dies following shooting by colleague (NBC Los Angeles)
    nbclosangeles.com
  5. News
    Santa Monica College employee dies 2 days after workplace shooting (ABC News)
    abcnews.go.com
Tags
shootingworkplace-violencecommunity-collegefatalitycaliforniasuspect-deceasedcampus-closuresanta-monica
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion