Woman dies 2 days after co-worker shot her at Santa Monica College, police say

SANTA MONICA, California — A 54-year-old woman died on Wednesday from injuries she sustained earlier this week when her colleague shot her Santa Monica College in Californiaauthorities said.

Felicia Hudson was pronounced dead Wednesday evening after the shooting late Monday at the school’s Center for Media and Design, officials said.

Hudson was a prison operations manager at the university and the suspected shooter, 39-year-old Davon Durell Dean, had been a custodian. Officials called the shooting a “workplace violence incident.”

“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic loss of our colleague Felicia Hudson, who served the college with dedication and heart for almost three decades. She took great pride in being a steadfast colleague and leader,” Kathryn E. Jeffery, superintendent and president of the university, said in a statement.

Dean fled after the shooting, Santa Monica police said in a statement. His car was stopped by officers near the town of Hawthorne, south of Santa Monica. After failing to surrender, he was found dead by suicide in the car, police said.

“The investigation remains ongoing and detectives are working to determine the full chain of events that led to this tragedy,” the statement said. “There are no further suspects involved and there is no ongoing threat to the public.”

In 2011, Dean was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and in 2019 he was arrested for alleged assault with a deadly weapon. However, his only convictions were for property crimes, police said.

The community college, with about 30,000 students spread across satellite campuses in the beachside city, was open again on Wednesday after being closed on Tuesday while the investigation continued.