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Christina Grimmie and Adam Levine on set of The Voice in 2014
Credit: Getty Images
It’s hard to drag ourselves away from the atrocity of yesterday morning’s events in Orlando, Florida. The back-end of Australia’s long weekend was spent thinking about the poor families who were waiting at the hospital to see if their loved ones were among the 49 dead. We were also thinking about American policy and how a man known to the authorities could easily access two guns in the Western world.
What some of you may not realise is just down the road from the Pulse nightclub where the deadliest mass shooting in American history happened on the weekend, another shooting occurred on Saturday.
Christina Grimmie – a singer who was coached under Adam Levine on the US’ The Voice – was gunned down after a concert in Orlando by crazed gunman, 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl. According to The Daily Mail, an eyewitness saw Grimmie standing at the merchandise table, near the sound desk, waiting to meet fans and take pictures. “The guy in front of us was walking up to meet her. Her arms were open, waiting to greet him with a hug,” says the eyewitness. “Then there was a sound of three pops, like balloons… I saw Christina’s leg fall to the side on the ground like a dead weight.”
The 22-year-old singer, who came third in the competition, was managed by Selena Gomez’s stepfather, Brian Teefey. He launched a GoFundMe page for the family’s expenses which has raised more than $US127 000.
Adam Levine has stepped up to pay for the funeral costs. “I found out this morning that Adam Levine personally called my mother and said he will pay for the funeral and her plane flight, and I was blown away,” Grimmie’s brother Marcus posted on Facebook.
Behati and I are absolutely devastated and heartbroken by Christina Grimmie’s death. Our hearts go out to her family pic.twitter.com/y4OMkm0uXu
— Adam Levine (@adamlevine) June 11, 2016
The gunman shot himself after being tackled by the singer’s brother. This is the heartbreaking video where Grimmie invites her fans to come and see her in Florida, posted just on Saturday.
ORLANDO!! Come out to the show tonight at the Plaza Live! Starts at 7:30!? pic.twitter.com/0D4mNupCTi
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) June 10, 2016
