The internet was saddened by the heartbreaking news that broke this past Friday night that after performing at a concert in Florida, singer Christina Grimmie was murdered while meeting with fans.
After opening up for the pop band Before You Exit, Grimmie was meeting with fans afterwards to talk and take pictures together. Sadly, waiting in line to meet with the YouTube star was 27-year-old murderer Kevin James Loibl.
It was learned by investigators that Loibl drove from another city with the malicious intent to gun down an unsuspecting and innocent Christina Grimmie, shoot her, and return home. After opening fire on a welcoming Grimmie, her brother Marcus hopped over a table and tackled him before Loibl turned the gun on himself and ended his life.
Fans and celebrities have since expressed their emotions and sympathies for the entire Grimmie family on social media. After former manager Brian Teefey set up a GoFundMe account for donations to cover the expected expenses for Grimmie’s funeral, raising more than 30 times the amount asked for (nearing $140,000), her brother Marcus was blown away by the generosity and compassion complete strangers had for the situation.
In response to the massive outpouring of support Marcus wrote,
“Words cannot express…literally I have no words. I promise both my parents and I will read every one of these personalized messages. I’m so blown away by everything right now. But all I can say is thank you. And Christina will be missed and never ever forgotten.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, hearing about the tragedy, Adam Levine reached out to the Grimmie family personally and offered to not only pay for the entire funeral but also pay for the flight of Christina’s mother to attend the funeral.
Levine, who was Grimmie’s vocal coach on the sixth season of The Voice, shared an image of the two of them together and responded to Grimmie’s death on his Twitter account.
Christina Grimmie, 22 years young, left this world far too soon.
It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to such a young talent. A star born in her own time who made her dreams a reality through the power of social media. She put everything into her work because it was what she loved to do. And it is despicable that someone could do something so terrible to a young woman who simply wanted to share her passion with the people that believed in her and her music.
If you would like to contribute or offer a kind word to the Grimmie family you can find the GoFundMe page here.