‘Grimmie killer at show to target her’ – Detectives looking for clues to motive

This news has been read 3952 times!

ORLANDO, Fla, June 12, (AP): A gunman who shot and killed a singer who rose to fame after appearing on “The Voice” traveled to Orlando from another Florida city specifically to attack her and then fatally shot himself, authorities said Saturday.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina said at a news conference that the suspect, identified as 27-year-old Kevin Loibl of St Petersburg, Florida, didn’t appear to know Christina Grimmie personally. Grimmie was shot to death after giving a concert in Orlando on Friday night. She died early Saturday.

“She was doing a meet-and-greet, just signing autographs and selling merchandise. This white male approached her and opened fire, striking her,” Mina said. “We believe he came here to commit this crime.”

The 22-year-old singer from New Jersey finished third during season six of NBC’s “The Voice” in 2014, competing on the team of Maroon 5 star Adam Levine. She began amassing a following on YouTube as a teenager, gripping online viewers with her powerful renditions of hit songs. Her videos on YouTube have garnered millions of views.

In an earlier statement, police said Grimmie had performed with the band Before You Exit at The Plaza Live in Orlando. The concert ended around 10 pm, and Grimmie was shot as she signed autographs for fans at a merchandise table in The Plaza Live concert venue.

Grimmie’s brother, Marcus, immediately tackled the gunman, who then shot and killed himself during the struggle, police said. They credited the singer’s brother with preventing the gunman from hurting others. Around 120 others were in The Plaza Live at the time.

“Very heroic actions by Marcus Grimmie to jump in and it definitely could have prevented further loss of life,” Mina said.

After the concert, 17-year-old Kaitlin Martin was standing with a group of other fans outside The Plaza Live, waiting for members of Before You Exit to come out, when she heard several loud “pops.”

“We thought at first they were balloons … but then security started running all over the place yelling at people to get out because someone has a gun and someone is shooting. Everyone is just running all over the place,” said Martin, who traveled to see to the concert from Brunswick, Georgia. “It was chaos.”

Unsettled

Martin said she was unsettled knowing the suspect had watched the concert in the same audience she was in.

“This person was in the crowd with us, and while we were singing, having a great time, he was there with different intentions,” she said.

Detectives were searching Loibl’s cellphone and social media accounts looking for clues as to a motive, Mina said, but they weren’t aware of any history of stalking of Grimmie by the suspect.

At Loibl’s home, in St Petersburg, someone had left a note on the front door, expressing the “deepest sorrow” for the loss “to the family, friends & fans of the very talented, loving Christina Grimmie.” The note said there would be no other comment. No one answered the door to the one-story house that had a rusted, metal animal trap in the yard.

Loibl had on him two handguns, two loaded magazines and a hunting knife, Mina said.

There were unarmed security guards at The Plaza Live and they checked bags and purses for contraband, but there were no metal detectors or pat-downs of people as they entered The Plaza Live, he said.

A spokeswoman said all events at The Plaza Live had been suspended until further notice.

Loibl had made travel arrangements to come to Orlando alone, as well as travel arrangements to go back home, but he didn’t have a car, Mina said. The police chief wouldn’t elaborate further.

Grimmie had posted a video of herself shortly before the concert was scheduled to begin, encouraging fans to come see her perform.

Levine posted a photo of himself with Grimmie on Instagram, commenting before her death was confirmed: “I’m sad, shocked and confused. We love you so much Grimmie. We are all praying hard that you can pull through this … this just isn’t fair.”

“The Voice” paid tribute to Grimmie on its official Twitter page: “There are no words. We lost a beautiful soul with an amazing voice.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2014 that Grimmie moved to Los Angeles in 2012 after joining Selena Gomez on tour to focus on her singing career.

“I’m done being surprised by cool things she does. She’s very talented and she’s worked incredibly hard — it’s a dangerous combination,” her brother told the newspaper at the time.

Grimmie — who had performed with the group “Before You Exit” — was rushed to the Orlando Regional Medical Center, but died of her wounds.

“The suspect traveled to Orlando, apparently, to commit this crime, and then had plans to travel back to where he came from,” Police Chief John Mina told reporters.

“Her brother Marcus is a hero and possibly saved countless other lives,” the Orlando Police Department said in a statement.

Injured

There were about 120 people in the venue at the time, it said, adding that the brother was not injured.

Police declined to provide many details about the suspect.

Most people at the event were “young kids,” which “isn’t a crowd that you would suspect would be carrying guns,” he added.

Authorities said they were trying to determine if the shooter knew Grimmie or was a deranged fan.

The shooting likely adds fuel to the long simmering debate over gun control in the United States, where firearms were used in more than 11,200 murders in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But past bouts of even more extreme gun violence, including the 2012 killing of 20 school children at an elementary school in Connecticut, have led to little change in a country where the right to bear arms is protected under the second amendment of the US constitution.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has vowed to take on the powerful gun lobby if elected president, while Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has promised “to cherish the Second Amendment.”

As word of Grimmie’s shooting and subsequent death spread quickly on social media, fans posted video clips of her performances, including her cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” during a blind audition on “The Voice.”

A New Jersey native, Grimmie gained a following by singing covers of hit songs in popular videos posted on YouTube.

Grimmie, who competed in the sixth season of “The Voice” in 2014, released her debut EP “Find Me” in 2011.

“There are no words. We lost a beautiful soul w/ an amazing voice,” the NBC talent show wrote on Twitter.

“My heart is absolutely broken. I miss you Christina,” tweeted pop star Selena Gomez. She included a picture of herself and Grimmie, who was her friend and occasional backup singer.

Gomez’s stepfather Brian Teefey, who was Grimmie’s manager, opened an account on the GoFundMe crowd sourcing website to raise money for Grimmie’s family.

“Words cannot begin to describe the pain I am feeling,” Teefey told People magazine.

“Christina was like a second daughter to me. All I wanted to do was assist her in achieving her musical dreams while protecting her from the pitfalls associated with the business,” he said.

“I never could have imagined this horrific event being one of the pitfalls needing to be avoided.”

This news has been read 3952 times!