Employee at Santa Monica College Shot, Killed by Coworker

Santa Monica, CA (WorkersCompensation.com) – An employee of Santa Monica College is dead after being shot by a coworker.

Officials said Felicia Hudson, 54, was working as a custodial operations manager at the college’s Center for Media and Design satellite campus on Sunday when she was shot by another school employee. Officials said they thought Hudson was the targeted victim of workplace violence.

The suspect, Davon Durell Dean, 29, fled campus after the shooting, leaving Hudson in critical condition. Hudson was taken to a nearby hospital with severe injuries. She succumbed to the injuries on Wednesday night.

“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,” Santa Monica College President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery said in a statement. “She took great pride in being a steadfast coworker and leader.”

Dean remained on the run until Tuesday afternoon when his vehicle was spotted by police in El Segundo. After a brief pursuit, he was surrounded by SWAT vehicles. Officials said Dean engaged in a multi-hour stand-off with police.

While negotiators attempted to convince Dean to surrender, he eventually shot himself inside of his car and died as a result of his injuries. Authorities said Dean was an employee at the school, but the motive behind his shooting remains a mystery. Investigators believe Dean targeted Hudson. Dean’s family told investigators the two had been arguing, but over what remains unknown.

Dean had a history of arrests including one for attempted murder in 2011 and one for assault with a deadly weapon in 2019. His only convictions were for “misdemeanor property crimes,” police said.

Officials at the college closed all of the school’s campuses on Tuesday as police investigated the shooting. The school has more than 25,000 students enrolled on six satellite campuses. Officials urged students and staff to stay home while officers conducted their investigation.

Campus officials said they were mourning the loss of an employee.

“To Felicia’s family, loved ones and friends, SMC extends our heartfelt condolences and prayer,” Jeffery said. “The college will be conducting a thorough review of this incident. SMC is providing crisis counseling services to employees and students as we grieve our irreplaceable colleague.”

The school has an online “Workplace Violence Prevention Program” that allows department school staff and employees to report any perceived threats.

“At Santa Monica Community College, the safety and well-being of our employees are our top priorities. In compliance with California Senate Bill 553, we have developed a comprehensive Workplace Violence Prevention Program aimed at creating a safe and secure environment for all individuals associated with our organization,” the website said.

The website provides an interactive form that allows school employees to report threats to the proper authorities. Employees can also contact Human Resources, Safety & Risk Management, or Campus Police, the school said.

“By working together and remaining vigilant, we can create a safe and respectful workplace environment for all,” the site said.

Passed in 2023, SB 553 required covered California employers to take steps to prevent and respond to workplace violence. The legislation went into effect on July 1 of this year. The law requires employers to adopt a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan that engages employees while coordinating the response to workplace violence that prevents retaliation against employees who report threats or incidents. The plan must also have procedures in place for correcting workplace violence hazards and outline post-incident responses and investigations.

Covered employers must also record information in a violent incident log that details every incident, post-incident, response and workplace violation injury investigation. Covered employers include all California employers except health care facilities, and some service employers, corrections facilities, and law enforcement agencies already covered by other legislation. The legislation also does not cover teleworking employees and “places of employment with less than 10 employees working at any given time and that are not accessible to the public.”

The legislation came after several high profile mass shootings in California. Since 1982, there have been 10 workplace mass shootings in the state.

According to Statista, there have been 54 mass shootings in the workplace across the country in that time period.  The most deadly of these was the mass shooting at the El Paso Walmart in 2019 where 23 were killed and 26 were injured. In that shooting, 21-year-old Patrick Wood Crusius drove from his home in Allen, Texas to El Paso and entered the Walmart store around 10:40 a.m. carrying a semi-automatic rifle and opened fire. He shot several people in the parking lot, killing three and injuring six, before entering the building.

A store manager witnessed the shooting in the parking lot and issued a “Code Brown” designating an active shooter and employees began to evacuate customers from the store or help them hide. There were approximately 3,000 people in the store at the time of the shooting, officials said. Customers and employees fled to other stores int eh adjacent mall, hid under tables, or took shelter in shipping containers located behind the building.

Crusius was later arrested and confessed to the shooting saying he had wanted to shoot and kill Mexicans. In July 2023, he was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences. 

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