Campus Alert Archive
SMC

From Burning House to College Library: A 13-Minute Spree Across Santa Monica

CAactive shooteremergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

John Zawahri, 23, began a shooting spree at his father's home, setting it on fire and killing his father and brother before hijacking a car and driving to Santa Monica College. He fired at a public bus, shot at passing vehicles, and entered the college library before police engaged and killed him. Five people were killed and four were injured across multiple locations.

Alerts
3
Response
min
Killed
5
Injured
4
Institution
Santa Monica College
Community College · CA
~30,000 students
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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction154 chars
EMERGENCY: Active shooter reported on Santa Monica College campus. Avoid campus area. Shelter in place immediately. Lock doors and stay away from windows.

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

Reconstructed from news reports; exact SMS text not publicly archived
SMC did not have a branded alert system name at the time, relying on a basic mass notification setup
The shooting had already begun off-campus at the shooter's home before reaching SMC
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction161 chars
UPDATE: Campus remains on lockdown. Police activity ongoing. All students, faculty, and staff must remain sheltered. Do not leave buildings until further notice.

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

Reconstructed from media coverage of the extended lockdown
All Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District schools also went on lockdown during the incident
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction184 chars
ALL CLEAR: The lockdown at Santa Monica College has been lifted. The suspect has been neutralized. Campus is closed for the remainder of the day. Counseling services will be available.

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

Reconstructed; exact wording not confirmed
Campus closure extended through the weekend as the library was an active crime scene
Context

Background

The June 7, 2013 shooting at Santa Monica College was a spree that began at the shooter's family home on Yorkshire Avenue, roughly two miles from campus. John Zawahri, 23, killed his father and brother, set the house on fire, then forced a woman to drive him toward the college while dressed in black and carrying an AR-15-style rifle and approximately 1,300 rounds of ammunition. En route, he fired at a Big Blue Bus carrying about two dozen passengers, injuring three. Upon reaching campus, he fired into a Ford Explorer, killing 68-year-old driver Carlos Navarro Franco and fatally wounding his daughter, Marcela Diaz Franco, an SMC student. He then fatally shot Margarita Gomez outside the college library before entering it, where Santa Monica Police officers and an SMC police captain confronted and killed him within minutes. The entire spree lasted approximately 13 minutes from the first 911 call to the shooter's death, a timeline later analyzed in the ICMA report titled '13 Minutes on June 7.' The multi-agency response involved Santa Monica Police, LAPD, and other agencies. All schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District were placed on lockdown during the incident. As a community college without the security infrastructure of a large university, SMC's experience highlighted the vulnerability of open-campus institutions to external threats that originate off campus and migrate onto college grounds.
Analysis

Key Findings

13-minute timeline from first 911 call to shooter neutralized, demonstrating rapid multi-agency response
Spree originated off-campus at shooter's home, highlighting the challenge of threats that migrate onto campus
Community college with open campus and limited security infrastructure
All Santa Monica-Malibu Unified schools locked down simultaneously, showing cascading community impact
Outcome
Shooter killed by police in the college library. Five victims killed, four injured. Campus locked down for hours.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Source
    2013 Santa Monica shootings - Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  2. Report
    ICMA - 13 Minutes on June 7: The Santa Monica Active Shooter Incident
    icma.org
  3. Report
    City of Santa Monica June 7th, 2013 Shooting Incident (Official After-Action Report, March 2014)
    schoolshooters.info
  4. News
    CNN - Santa Monica shooting rampage
    cnn.com
Tags
active-shootercommunity-collegespree-shootinglibrarycaliforniadomestic-originmulti-agency-response
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion