Christina – who is known for her appearances on the USA version of “The Voice” – opened for the band Before You Exit at The Plaza Live in Orlando.
Advertisement
Police say Grimmie was shot by 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl of St. Petersburg, Florida. The talented young singer was immediately rushed to hospital, where she passed away.
Grimmie was a contestant in the 2014 series of The Voice, joining Adam Levine’s team and going on to finish in third place.
A New Jersey native, Grimmie first gained public attention with moving covers of hit songs in videos viewed by millions on YouTube. The two met through Selena’s stepfather, Brian Teefey, who discovered Grimmie on YouTube and became her longtime manager.
Christina Grimmie dies as she was reported to have been shot during an autograph signing after an Orlando concert.
Police say Loibl shot Grimmie Friday night as she was signing autographs after a concert in Orlando. However, Mina told reporters that so far there was no indication that the gunman and Grimmie knew each other.
Mina said unarmed security guards had checked bags as people entered the venue, but no metal detectors were used and no body searches were made.
The 21-year-old man was armed with two handguns and a hunting knife, Mina said, as well as two extra magazines of ammunition.
Police said there was no evidence that Loibl and Grimmie had had any type of relationship or that the attacker had tried to contact the singer via social networks.
Christina was shot about 22:45 local time on Friday at The Plaza Live in Orlando.
According to the Gospel Herald, Grimmie described herself as a “full-on Christian who loves Jesus” and loved the Bible, and sang for Jesus. “We are all praying hard that you can pull through this… this just isn’t fair”.
Advertisement
The news spread as it left fans shocked of the incident, yet it may sound creepy but her Twitter post of 18 months ago could have indicated that she predicted the manner of her death. We lost a handsome soul with an fantastic voice.
