Santa Monica College employee dies after being shot on campus

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Santa Monica College custodial manager has died after she was shot on campus earlier this week, officials announced.

Felicia Hudson, 54, a custodial operations manager, died at about 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to the school.

Hudson was shot around 9:50 p.m. Monday at the SMC Center for Media & Design in the 1600 block of Stewart Street, between Olympic Boulevard and Colorado Avenue, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.

The suspect, Davon Durell Dean, a 39-year-old custodian at the college, was found dead inside his car from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Hawthorne Tuesday.

College police chief Johnnie Adams said the shooting was a "horrific act of workplace violence" and not a random act.

Santa Monica police detectives were able to identify Dean as the shooter. Tuesday afternoon, Hawthorne police officers spotted Dean's vehicle in the area near El Segundo Boulevard and Aviation Boulevard.

After a short chase, officers used a PIT maneuver to stop his car. A barricade situation ensued and at some point Dean turned his gun on himself, police say.

Santa Monica police say Dean was arrested for attempted murder in 2011 and assault with a deadly weapon, a firearm, in 2019. However, he only has convictions for misdemeanor property crimes on his record, police say.

"We are deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic loss of our colleague Felicia Hudson, who served the college for nearly three decades with dedication and heart. She took great pride in being a steadfast coworker and leader," SMC Superintendent/President Kathryn E. Jeffery said in a statement Wednesday evening. "To Felicia's family, loved ones and friends, SMC extends our heartfelt condolences and prayers."

The Santa Monica College Foundation has established a legacy fund in collaboration with Hudson's family. Details are available online at foundation.smc.edu/felicia-hudson.

Classes at the school will be online through the weekend.

City News Service contributed to this report.