Christina Grimmie. Photo courtesy of NBC.
Summary: Singer Christina Grimmie was murdered in Orlando on Friday.
Music lovers have been mourning the death of up-and-coming singer Christina Grimmie. On Friday, the Youtube star and former The Voice contestant was shot outside of a concert venue. She was signing autographs when she was attacked.
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Buzzfeed reports that police were able to identify the shooter as Kevin Loibl, 27, from St. Petersberg. Police said that the gunman specifically travelled to Orlando where Grimmie had her concert in order to shoot her. They stated it appeared the two had no previous relationship.
The Orlando police chief said that officers responded to a call about gunshots at 10:30 pm. When they arrived at the Plaza Live concert venue, they found Grimmie and a second victim had been killed. Witnesses said they saw Loibl approach the singer and shoot her. Her brother tackled him, and during the melee, Loibl ended his own life.
Police said that Loibl had not travelled there himself, but they did not release any more details about his transportation, other than it seemed he intended to go back home after his planned shooting. Police Chief John Mina said Loibl had been carrying two handguns and a hunting knife when he entered the concert venue, which had not hired security the night of the event.
Mina said the police are still looking for a motive.
Grimmie, 22, had developed a strong following thanks to her Youtube channel, which featured her singing covers of popular songs. She was a contestant on The Voice in 2014, a mentee of Marooon 5’s Adam Levine, and she won third place. Since then, she had been touring with the band Before You Exit. After their Plaza Live show, she had been outside, signing autographs and meeting fans.
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Source: Buzzfeed