Police have released the chilling 911 call that led to the capture of the homeless man who allegedly killed 24-year-old UCLA graduate student Brianna Kupfer, according to a report.
“Hello, I am calling because I see a gentleman who looks very similar to the suspect in the Kupfer stabbing in LA,” a male caller is heard saying, according to the recording obtained by Fox News.
“I’m in Pasadena… He just walked past the corner of Green and Terrace, in Pasadena,” he says, adding that the man “had a black hoodie on, dark sweatpants and a black backpack that is very similar to the one I’ve seen in images.”
Shawn Laval Smith, 31, was arrested after the tip led police to a bus stop Wednesday morning, a day after authorities offered a record-breaking $250,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
“I can confirm officers from Pasadena PD did take Mr. Smith into custody earlier today,” Pasadena police Lt. William Grisafe told The Post on Wednesday.
“We had been notified by a community member that they believed the wanted person was at the bus bench located at Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue,” he added.
Smith was later turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department and was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
A source told Fox News that the suspect gave cops a fake name, but the LAPD’s fugitive unit sent a fingerprint reader to Pasadena and confirmed his real identity.
Kupfer was killed Jan. 13 in a random attack as she worked alone in the store at Croft House on North La Brea Avenue, police said.
She had texted a friend to say someone came into the store and was “giving her a bad vibe,” LAPD Lt. John Radtke said at a news conference earlier this week.
Smith allegedly left through the back door without taking anything, cops said. He was seen calmly walking down the street, according to cops.
Police released the identity of Smith on Tuesday, and they had shared surveillance footage of the alleged killer buying a vape pen at 7-Eleven only a half-hour after the murder.