Police in California have released the audio of the 911 call that led to the arrest of the man charged with the murder of 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer, stabbed to death inside the furniture store where she worked in what is believed to have been a random attack.
Kupfer was killed on January 13 at Croft House, an upscale furniture store on North La Brea Avenue in central Los Angeles.
Police announced on Tuesday that their main suspect was Shawn Laval Smith, 31, a homeless South Carolina native known for attacking police officers and strangers, who had a rap sheet of at least 11 arrests in his home state and two in California.
On Wednesday a man recognized Smith in Pasadena, and called the police - saying he was wearing the same distinctive backpack as that seen when he bought a vape pen in a 7-Eleven store, just 30 minutes after Kupfer's murder.
'Hello, I am calling because I see a gentleman who looks very similar to the suspect in the Kupfer stabbing in L.A.,' the caller states.
'I'm in Pasadena. He just walked past the corner of Green and Terrace, in Pasadena.'
Brianna Kupfer, 24, was murdered on January 13 in a central Los Angeles furniture boutique
Brianna Kupfer, 24, was stabbed to death in a random attack on January 13 while she was working alone in a luxury furniture store in Los Angeles. She had texted a friend to say someone in the shop was 'giving her a bad vibe'. Smith is pictured right in an undated mugshot
A still photo from surveillance video shows a suspect in UCLA student Brianna Kupfer's murder buying a vape pen at a 7-Eleven just 30 minutes after the January 13 stabbing
The suspect dressed in all black walked into a store located about four miles from the crime scene where Kupfer was found dead
The suspect was last seen carrying a backpack and wearing mirrored glasses
Surveillance video released by the police captured the man identified as Smith strolling into a 7-Eleven located at Beverly Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard - about four miles from the crime scene - and handing a sales clerk cash to buy a vape pen.
The man in the video, wearing all black, except for a white dust mask commonly worn by house painters, does not appear in a hurry as he places a bill on the counter and counts a handful of coins.
At one point, he briefly lowers his mask.
The store worker hands him the vape pen and the suspect walks away, but he immediately returns and apparently asks to exchange the vaping device for another one.
"Fox News captured the moment Shawn Smith was arrested for the brutal, unprovoked stabbing of a 24-year-old student
Shawn Laval Smith, 31, was taken into custody by Pasadena, police Wednesday in connection with the murder of Brianna Kupfer in nearby Los Angeles. He has a lengthy rap sheet
He's "pictured being led away in handcuffs in Pasadena on January 19; police said he was arrested peacefully and did not struggle with officers
Smith has a prolific criminal record, with dozens of prior charges in North Carolina and South Carolina
The Los Angeles Police Department announced that Smith was arrested at around 11:50am on Wednesday.
The caller said he saw Smith in a black hoodie, dark sweatpants and the eye-catching backpack.
Smith initially gave a fake name, and the LAPD sent its fugitive unit with a fingerprint reader to Pasadena and confirmed Smith's identity with the device.
The LAPD received more than 1,000 tips since, the source said.
Smith was taken into custody about 15 miles from the high-end furniture store where Kupfer was killed.
