A man was arrested Wednesday in the random knife slaying of a graduate student at UCLA who was working at a furniture store, USA Today reports. Shawn Laval Smith, who police believe is homeless, was arrested by the Pasadena Police Department after a nearly week-long search after police say the 31-year-old entered a furniture store with a knife and stabbed Brianna Kupfer, 24. The killing unfolded Thursday while Kupfer was working alone in Croft House, an upscale Los Angeles furniture store. Police say Kupfer texted a friend and said she felt uncomfortable with a customer in the store who was giving her a "bad vibe." About 20 minutes later, another customer entered the store and found Kupfer. She was "lying on the ground lifeless, covered in blood" and was pronounced dead, said LAPD Lt. John Radtke.
Police said the suspect fled from the back of the store. Kupfer didn't know the suspect and the killing was a "random" act of violence with no known motive, Radtke said. Nothing was taken from the store and no one else in the area was attacked or injured. Smith had been spotted walking into multiple businesses the day of the attack. "It’s just so heart wrenching," her father, Todd Kupfer said."It’s torn us apart. We really don’t know what to do and what steps to take. We just want her life to have more meaning."
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