Brianna Kupfer - latest: Covid backlog caused delay in trial of suspect Shawn Laval Smith on gun charge
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The man wanted on suspicion of the murder of 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer has been taken into custody in California.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that Shawn Laval Smith was arrested by Pasadena police at around 11:50am that morning in the area of Fair Oaks and Colorado Blvd in Pasadena - roughly 17 miles from the luxury furniture store where Ms Kupfer was found murdered on 13 January.
“We can confirm, Shawn Laval Smith, the suspect responsible for the murder of Brianna Kupfer is in custody,” the department tweeted.
A huge manhunt had been underway to track down Mr Smith, 31, after the LAPD identified him on Tuesday night as the only suspect in the UCLA graduate student’s murder.
Ms Kupfer was alone working in the Croft House store when she was stabbed to death in what is believed to be a random attack. She was found bleeding on the floor by a customer and died at the scene.
Surveillance videos captured the suspect leaving the shop through a back door and then buying a vape pen in a 7-Eleven.
Police said she texted a friend about a customer with a “bad vibe” moments before her killing.
‘We’ll miss her greatly'
Los Angeles council member Paul Koretz delivered a statement from Ms Kupfer’s family at a press conference on Tuesday.
“Brianna, who was born, educated and was building her career here in Los Angeles, was a rising star in this community whose ascent was unnecessarily cut short by the actions of a heartless criminal last Thursday,” the statement read.
“In many ways she embodied everything that was great about Los Angeles and the entire city should grieve over this senseless act.
“Brianna was a smart, driven, funny and kind soul who only wanted to better herself and her community on a daily basis.
“While she could be shy at times, she lit up any room she was in, and strove to elevate everyone she met so they could be better versions of themselves.
“She deeply loved her family and friends, and made every day better simply by her presence.
“We’ll miss her greatly, and there won’t be a day that goes by that we don’t think of her.”
The family thanked members of the community who had donated $200,000 to helping to find Ms Kupfer’s killer, and expressed the hope that he would be apprehended and convicted quickly.
Suspect purchased vape pen after attack
Surveillance video from a 7-Eleven store purportedly showed suspect Shawn Laval Smith purchasing a vape pen about half an hour after Ms Kupfer was killed.
In the footage, recorded about four miles from the crime scene, the suspect appeared calm and collected as he handed cash to a sales person.
He was wearing all black with sunglasses and a white dust mask that he briefly lowered.
Watch the video here via Independent TV.
Vigil for Kupfer
The Hancock Park community is set to hold a vigil for Ms Kupfer on Thursday outside the Croft House furniture store where she worked as a design consultant.
It will begin at 1.30pm, around the time that she was stabbed to death inside the store one week earlier on 13 January.
“The idea has come up spontaneously since we are horrified by the murder of Brianna Kupfer,” organizer Yael Kopple said. “We have put a flyer together asking people to join outside the store at the time of the murder.
“The purpose is to show solidarity together with bringing awareness of how we can be more involved to restore safety in the community.”
ICYMI: Father blames spiking crime
Ms Kupfer’s father condemned politicians for failing to curb soaring crime in the days after his daughter’s murder.
“Crime is truly spiking, and we have a lot of criminals on the streets that should not be out,” Todd Kupfer told Fox News in an emotional interview on Monday.
“We have a lot of politicians that somehow forgot about people and think the key to getting elected is to support the lowest rung of our society and to give them rights and somehow that’s the answer to getting votes.”
The Independent’s Arpan Rai reports:
Brianna Kupfer: Father of student stabbed to death slams politicians for crime spike
Brianna Kupfer was stabbed to death by a person on Thursday at an upscale furniture shop
Homeless crime wave in LA
Investigators’ belief that Ms Kupfer’s killer is homeless renewed concerns over a rise in violence among the homeless community in Los Angeles and around the country since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rev Andy Bales, CEO and president of Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row in Los Angeles, tells The Independent that what he has seen in the last two years is unlike anything he has seen during the 35 years he has been working to support people living in homelessness.
“I’m certainly seeing violence and behaviours among people devastated by homelessness that I’ve never seen in the last 35 years,” he says.
“Most often it’s violence towards others who are homeless and they suffer the brunt of it.
“But in LA, 70 percent of people devastated by homelessness are on the streets and so this presents conditions where pedestrians on their way to work will meet people who are in different states of mental illness.”
He adds: “In LA, there are encampments everywhere you go and people who are struggling are everywhere.”
Public instructed not to approach Smith
Police warned the public not to approach suspect Shawn Laval Smith as he is considered “armed and dangerous”.
Instead, anyone who believes they’ve spotted him should immediately call 911.
Anyone with more general information on his whereabouts is urged to contact West Bureau Homicide investigators at (213) 382-9470 or Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads).
Everything we know about Shawn Laval Smith
Five days after Ms Kupfer was murdered, police identified Shawn Laval Smith as her suspected killer on Tuesday.
The Independent’s Megan Sheets explains everything we know about the 31-year-old:
Who is Shawn Laval Smith? Convict wanted for fatal stabbing of Brianna Kupfer
Smith is accused of killing Ms Kupfer at the Croft House furniture store in Los Angeles
Three women killed in random attacks by homeless men
Brianna Kupfer was working her shift in a furniture store. Michelle Alyssa Go was catching a train. Sandra Shells was waiting for a bus.
All three women were then murdered in what appeared to be random acts of senseless violence by homeless men.
Their killings, which all took place across just three days last week, have once again thrust concerns around a rise in violent crime and homelessness in America’s major cities into the spotlight.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
Three women killed in random attacks by homeless men: What does it say about America?
Michelle Alyssa Go, Sandra Shells and Brianna Kupfer were murdered in random killings that have shocked America. Their deaths shine a spotlight on homelessness, violent crime and gender-based violence, writes Rachel Sharp
City leader vows justice
Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz on Tuesday urged other city leaders to add $50,000 more to the $200,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the suspect.
“We will find this vicious criminal, we will arrest him and we will get him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
“But we must fight for justice for her even though nothing will bring her back. Our mission and my objective is that the perpetrator that took away Brianna from her beloved parents, colleagues, friends and our community will be permanently locked away, constantly reminded of his horrible, ugly and senseless murder of an innocent young woman who had endless potential.”
Suspect’s lengthy rap sheet
Shawn Laval Smith, the man currently sought for Ms Kupfer’s murder, is said to have a lengthy rap sheet spanning the US from South Carolina to California.
His most recent arrest was for shoplifting, according to Fox News. He was also jailed in San Mateo for assaulting a police officer, the outlet reported.
Los Angeles County jail records also showed an October 2020 arrest on a misdemeanour charge. He was released on $1,000 bail in that case, the outcome of which was not immediately clear.
In announcing Mr Smith as a suspect in Ms Kupfer’s murder, police released two mugshots from a previous arrest and a photo taken after the killing: