Man Shot to Death at Business; Suspect Held

BURBANK —  A North Hills man charged into a corporate headquarters here Monday afternoon, exchanged angry words with his estranged wife and then shot to death one of her co-workers, police said.

Stephen Kopy, 64, of North Hills, was arrested on suspicion of homicide. Burbank police said the victim, whom they did not identify, worked with Kopy’s estranged wife at Aramark Uniform Services.

Police said they did not know the motive in the shooting, but said the victim and Kopy’s estranged wife were friends.

“It seems they were pretty close,” said Police Capt. Gordon Bowers. “They worked right next to each other.”

Kopy, armed with a semiautomatic handgun, stormed into the first-floor lobby of the division’s corporate headquarters in downtown Burbank shortly after 3:30 p.m., Bowers said.

Kopy then made his way to a restricted, security-card access area on the third floor and traded angry words with his estranged wife, police said. She walked away, Bowers said.

At that point, Kopy walked into a back office, where he shot his estranged wife’s co-worker in the chest, Bowers said.

The man was pronounced dead at 4:43 p.m. at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center.

Witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots. Bowers could not confirm the number of shots that were fired, but said “All the shots that were fired hit the victim.”

Police said Kopy did not point the gun at any other employee in the more than 30 cubicles on the floor.

Police, who were first called when Kopy entered the lobby, arrived moments after the shooting. Kopy surrendered without a struggle, Bowers said, but employees were shaken.

“Obviously, it’s a very traumatic thing,” he said. “It appears to be a very secure facility, which makes [the employees] even more surprised someone was able to get in there.”

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Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Edgar Sandoval and Andrew Blankstein, and Times Community News reporters Amber Willard and Darrell Satzman.