Being 40, in my 30s when Christina was killed, I had not yet heard of her. I had not watched The Voice or saw any of the YouTube videos. My nephew, Zach, had a friend that was her ultimate fan and I remember my oldest daughter talking about how Cody was going to be devastated about her death. I thought of how sad her death was and how I had seen on the news about how she opened her arms to embrace a "shy" fan, who pulled out a gun and shot her three times. Then like a coward, shot himself.
Christina was born on March 12th, 1994. Christina was a singer from very early childhood age and in 2009 she began to post weekly videos of her singing covers and some of her own music. She released her very first EP, Find Me, in 2011. Mind you, this EP made it to # 2 on ITUNES just below Adele at number 1. After this, she reached 1 million subscribers on YouTube. She was becoming the star she was always meant to be. After releasing EP number 2 "With Love" , she reached 2 million subscribers.
Christina was then offered to audition for The Voice, a singing competition show. She did fantastic and sang a number of covers. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am the ULTIMATE Elvis fan. I am very picky about how his songs are sung and how they sound. ESPECIALLY "Can't Help Falling in Love With You". When I heard Christina's version, I knew that besides Elvis' version, hers would forever be my favorite. My playlist is full of her music. It's magical. Christina finished 3rd and most of us are in shock that she didn't get 1st place.
On June 10, 2016, Grimmie performed with Before You Exit at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida. Earlier in the day, she posted an announcement on social media asking people to attend the concert. After her performance ended at 10:00 p.m., Grimmie signed autographs inside the venue. At 10:24 p.m., she was approached by 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl without saying a word. Thinking he was too shy to greet her, she opened her arms to give him a hug (which would be her trademark way of greeting someone if she deemed them to be shy). Loibl then pulled his Glock 19 pistol and shot her three times at point-blank range. As witnesses fled the scene, Loibl was tackled by Grimmie's brother who was standing right beside her, and the men scuffled. Loibl broke free, backed against a wall, and fatally shot himself. Her brother stated in several interviews that when Loibl pulled out the second gun, he thought his life was soon to be over. Yet, Kevin Loibl cowered out and shot himself.
Grimmie was on the floor and bleeding from the head; after CPR was performed on her, 9-1-1 was called and she was taken to the Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition with gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead just before 11:00 p.m. local time. An autopsy was performed the following day, on June 11, which concluded that Grimmie had been shot three times: once in the head and twice in the chest. Her official cause of death was "gunshot wounds of head and chest". All I can think about is how her brother must have been terrified and how traumatized having to watch this all unfold.
The Orlando Police Department said Loibl had traveled by taxi to Orlando from his home in St. Petersburg, Florida, bringing two handguns, two extra magazines full of ammunition, and a large hunting knife. Orlando Police Chief John Mina stated that "The suspect traveled to Orlando apparently to commit this crime and then had plans to travel back to where he came from." I disagree with this. I think that he knew once he shot her, he was going to kill himself. If you watch the episode on Chrisina on "Death By Fame", it's very obvious he knew he wasn't coming back. According to Orlando police, the bags of the attendees would normally have been checked, but there were no metal detectors at the venue, nor were the attendees frisked. This angers me. The next time you go to an event and your patted down and have to go through the metal detectors, remember Christina. She would still be alive today had the venue did their job.
One witness complained that the security was concerned about food and beverages being brought into the theater but did not catch Loibl's guns. REALLY? Witnesses described Loibl as "nervous" and "kind of creepy".
Loibl had purchased the guns legally. He did not have an arrest record in his home county of Pinellas but did have previous run-ins with the police.[12 He did not appear to know Grimmie personally; nor did Grimmie know him.[129] He had not had any diagnosis of any mental illnesses but, had a history of violence.[Pillas
Police did not offer a motive but said that Loibl had shown an "unhealthy and unrealistic infatuation" with the singer and tried to make himself more physically attractive for her through weight loss, hair plugs, teeth whitening and eye surgery. The Orlando Sentinel described his motive as "If I can't have you, then nobody else can — and I'm going to possess you by taking your life." Although Loibl lived "like a hermit", his family said that they were not aware of his plans to travel to Orlando nor that he possessed any guns. They also stated that they had never heard of Grimmie, heard Loibl talk about her, or watched The Voice. However, his "only friend in the world" claimed to have known about Loibl's obsession, though not its extent; Loibl's co-workers stated the same. They said Loibl would be "angry and defensive" when questioned about his obsession and before the shooting had stated he was "tired and ready to ascend".
On June 16, Grimmie was buried at Berlin Cemetery in a private ceremony. The following day, thousands of friends and fans attended a public memorial held in Medford, New Jersey. Tributes from stars such as Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and of course her Voice coach, Adam Levine. Adam and his wife offered to pay for her funeral. All of them did tributes to her at concerts following her death. Adam did a tribute on the voice a year after Christina was killed with her family front row. They were there to announce the Christina Grimmie Foundation. ChristinaGrimmieFoundation.org
This foundation supports families that have been impacted by gun violence. Her parents and brother want to make sure that Christina's legacy is put to good use. If you get a chance, please check out the website. Donate or sign up to be a volunteer!
I also encourage you to look Christina's YouTube page up and just listen to how beautiful her voice is. She was taken by a crazed fan way too soon. We have lost many stars this way and I am hoping that at some point, this can be controlled. Security needs to be tighter, clear bag policies, and metal detectors need to be the norm.
We all still remember you Christina. With Love.
Sources:
* Death By Fame-Christina Grimmie Episode
* ABC News
* The Legacy of Christina Grimmie
*Wikipedia-Christina Grimmie
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