Santa Monica College shooting suspect dead after hours-long SWAT standoff

A suspect connected to a shooting at Santa Monica College is dead after an hours-long SWAT standoff in El Segundo Tuesday night.

The suspect’s vehicle was spotted by police near El Segundo and Aviation Boulevards at around 3 p.m. Following a short pursuit, he was eventually boxed in and surrounded by SWAT vehicles.

Despite attempts by negotiators to get the suspect to surrender, he eventually shot and killed himself, police said. He was later identified as Davon Durell Dean, 29, an employee at Santa Monica College.

Officers said Dean is a suspect in the Monday night shooting that left a woman critically injured at the college’s Center for Media and Design satellite campus at around 9:15 p.m.

The woman who was shot was a long-time school employee, reportedly a custodial operations manager. She was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries and remained in critical condition on Tuesday night.

Investigators believe the woman was targeted in a case of workplace violence but it’s unclear how they knew each other. The motive behind the shooting remains unclear and the victim’s identity was not released.

“Durell has a history of arrests including for attempt murder in 2011 and an assault with a deadly weapon, a firearm, in 2019,” authorities said. “His only convictions were for misdemeanor property crimes.”

All Santa Monica College campuses were closed on Tuesday as police investigated the incident.

Some students said they were upset they didn’t receive alerts about the shooting until roughly three hours after it occurred.

“We were still on campus when the shooting was happening,” said Andre Sajadi, a Santa Monica College student. “It’s absolutely ridiculous. It could’ve been one of us.”

“When I found out and I got home, I was really shocked, because I would think if there was a shooter on campus, then they would evacuate us which they didn’t,” said Mandy Kohanim, another frustrated student.

Santa Monica Police believed the shooting was an isolated incident and noted there was no threat to the public.

However, Cory Wenter, a national security expert and CEO of Pangaea Consulting, criticized the response time.

“If it took three hours to send out an emergency for a shooting on a school then they were three hours too late to the game,” Wenter said.

With over 25,000 students enrolled at the college’s six satellite campuses, police have deployed extra patrols on campus while urging students and staff to stay at home. All classes and events at the college were canceled Tuesday due to the investigation.

“The question that I have is, ‘What kind of person were they employing?’” said Liam Balul, a worried student. “It’s kind of jarring knowing somebody capable of that was on campus.”

A statement from the Santa Monica College president Kathryn E. Jeffery was released saying in part:

“… Here at SMC, we frequently refer to each other as family. At this heartbreaking time, l urge us all to come together in kindness and compassion as we navigate this unspeakable tragedy.”

Following Tuesday night’s standoff, roads near LAX on Aviation Boulevard between El Segundo Boulevard and 124th Street remain closed as authorities investigate the scene.

Anyone with information on the shooting can call Santa Monica Police at 310-395-9931.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.