Police in Orlando, Florida have identified the man who fatally shot singer Christina Grimmie.
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Grimmie was rushed to a hospital in critical condition and died a few hours later. She was performing with the band Before You Exit in Orlando, and was shot while signing autographs after the show.
“Almost immediately, her brother, Marcus Grimmie, tackled the suspect to the ground”, Mina said.
The suspect “walked toward Christina and shot her”, police said in a Twitter message.
Loibl lived in St. Petersburg, more than 100 miles west of Orlando, police added.
Mina revealed that the suspect was carrying two handguns, two additional loaded magazines for the handguns, and a large hunting knife.
Police are searching Loibl’s computer and his phone records for any evidence of contact he may have had with Grimmie before Friday night’s shooting.
Grimmie was most widely known from those appearances on “The Voice” two years ago, when she rocked listeners with her renditions of songs including “Wrecking Ball” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, and finished third.
“There’s no indication that he knew her, we’re looking into that to try and find a motive for the crime”. “She was shot at her show in Orlando, and unfortunately didn’t survive the gun shot wounds”, her representative told People.com.
As previously reported, a rep for Grimmie said the singer died from her gunshot injuries early Saturday morning.
Mina said there are no metal detectors at the site and that “people are not patted down”.
Grimmie was signing autographs for fans inside the Plaza Live concert hall at the time of the shooting, around 10:30 p.m. (0230 GMT on Saturday).
“It was just a casual event”, she said. Mina said it appeared he may have been a deranged fan.
Born in Marlton, N.J., Grimmie had first gained popularity through posting videos of herself singing on YouTube.
Sheina Almaguer, 17, who was at the concert said her bag was only checked for food and drinks when she arrived at the venue.
An investigation is ongoing, but police credited the singer’s brother with preventing the gunman from hurting others.
“Christina was such a loving, caring, handsome person”, the band Before You Exit wrote on Twitter, adding: “We are so saddened by her passing and completely heartbroken”. We love you so much Grimmie.
Adam Levine, the singer whose team she performed with on the program, posted a picture of himself with her on his Instagram account after the incident. “We are all praying hard that you can pull through this. this just isn’t fair”, he wrote.
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“The Voice” paid tribute to Grimmie on its official Twitter page: “There are no words”. New video of “The Voice” ex-contestant’s final performance has been released. “We lost a attractive soul with an unbelievable voice”.
