A 21-year-old man wielding two handguns shot former contestant on The Voice Christina Grimmie Friday night after a concert in Florida, and then fatally shot himself.
Grimmie, 22, died from her injuries from the shooting, which happened last night around 10:30 The Plaza Live in Orlando. The singer had just opened for the band Before You Exit and was meeting fans and signing autographs a half hour after the concert ended when she was shot.
Police said Grimmie’s brother as a hero, and said he tackled the suspect, whom they described as a white male with two loaded magazines and a large hunting knife in addition to the two handguns he was carrying. Orlando Police Chief John Mina told reporters,
“Almost immediately, her brother Marcus Grimmie tackled the suspect. Shortly after that, the suspect killed himself.”
The suspect traveled to Orlando apparently to commit this crime and then had plans to travel back to where he came from.
This isn’t a crowd that you would suspect would be carrying guns into a venue like this.“
Detectives were scouring his cellphone and computer to find a motive for the killing.So far there was “no indication” that he knew Grimmie.
The shooting happened inside the venue as about 120 concertgoers crowded around Grimmie for a chance to meet her and buy merchandise. Fans’ purses and backpacks are typically checked when they enter The Plaza Live, but there are no metal detectors there.
Grimmie was a native of Marlton, New Jersey. She came in third on Season 6 of The Voice Adam Levine was her coach. Levine posted a photo of himself with Grimmie on Instagram, commenting before her death was confirmed:
“Behati and I are absolutely devastated and heartbroken by Christina Grimmie’s death. Our hearts go out to her family“
Other fellow artists and fans also wrote tributes to Grimmie, who was discovered on YouTube and had more than 3 million followers on her account zeldaxlove64. When reports of Grimmie’s death first surfaced, #PrayforChristina was the top trending hashtag on Twitter.
Grimmie’s publicist Heather Weiss confirmed her death early Saturday morning.
“It is with a heavy heart that we can confirm that Christina has passed and went home to be with the Lord. We ask at this time that you respect the privacy of her family and friends in their time of mourning.“
Very sad news. What a waste.
(via NBC News)
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