A 24-year-old woman is dead after being stabbed while working at a high-end furniture store in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
via People:
Brianna Kupfer, of Pacific Palisades, was killed Thursday when an unknown assailant entered the store Croft House on North La Brea Avenue and stabbed her, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement Friday.
Kupfer was found dead by a customer, who reported their findings to police.
The suspect, who remains at large, fled through a back door after the attack, according to the LAPD. Surveillance footage obtained by multiple local news outlets shows them calmly walking northbound down an alley behind the crime scene.
A motive for the attack remains unknown.
Kupfer was a graduate of both Brentwood High School in Los Angeles and the University of Miami, her family said in a statement to CBS Los Angeles.
Her father told CBS Los Angeles that his daughter had been working on a degree in architectural design at UCLA.
Speaking with FOX 11 Los Angeles, Kupfer’s father says his daughter was “smart” and had “big dreams” in addition to having “lots of friends” and being “devoted to her family.”
Riley Rea, a co-owner of the Croft House furniture store, told the Los Angeles Times that Kupfer had been working at the business for just over a year before the attack. He said the young woman was intelligent, poised and well-liked by her peers, adding, “she was mature beyond her years.”
“I’m absolutely devastated for her and her family,” Rea told the outlet. “It just seems so disgusting and unexpected. Really there are no words to say how shocked we are to lose such a wonderful person.”
A small memorial for Kupfer has formed outside Croft House in the days following the deadly attack.
Wilshire Patrol officers were alerted to an assault with a deadly weapon at the 300 block of North La Brea Avenue around 1:50 p.m. local time on Thursday, according to the LAPD. The suspect and the victim allegedly were not known to each other prior to the attack, and police believe the suspect may be homeless.
Dr. Jennifer Botelho told CBS Los Angeles that the suspect had entered her chiropractic practice, which neighbors Croft House, shortly before the stabbing.
“He came in and asked a couple of questions: ‘Do you do orthopedics here?’ What kind of care we provide and then he left,” she told the outlet, adding that he was only around “for a few minutes.”
Botelho called the situation “terrifying” and “horrible” before offering her condolences to Kupfer’s family. “She’s such a young girl,” she said, adding, “we feel so horrible for Brianna’s family, and hope we can catch this guy.”
Police are still looking for the suspect, who is described as a tall, thin Black male wearing a dark hoody, sunglasses, a white N-95 mask, dark-colored skinny jeans, and dark-colored shoes. The suspect was also carrying a dark-colored backpack at the time of the attack.
Individuals with information about the stabbing are asked to contact West Bureau Homicide investigators at (213) 382-9470. Those that wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). text them at 274637, or visit LAPDOnline.org and click on “webtips.”
We’re willing to bet this was done by someone she knew. So sad.
