Christina Grimmie’s Killer Has Been Identified As Kevin James Loibl
The man who shot the 22-year-old singer dead following her concert
performance in Orlando yesterday has been named as Kevin
James Loibl, a 27 year-old from St. Petersburg, Florida.
[irp posts=”15608″ name=”American Artist & Voice Contestant Christina Grimmie Is Killed At The Age Of 22″]
Police believe Loibl travelled to Grimmie’s gig with the intention of killing Christina.
Man who shot and killed Christina Grimmie @TheRealGrimmie is
Kevin James Loibl DOB 03/10/1989 pic.twitter.com/2D7ZIDhXCa— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016
The whole incident is absolutely tragic and hard to wrap the mind around.
Christina was opening for the band ‘Before You Exit‘ at The Plaza Live in
Orlando and stayed on afterwards to sign autographs for fans. It was here that she posted this below cute video to Twitter, encouraging fans to come down and meet her:
https://twitter.com/TheRealGrimmie/status/741387106921140224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Loibl came to the event carrying two handguns, two loaded magazines and a hunting knife. In a sick and twisted series of events which are still coming to light, he walked towards the singer and opened fire, shooting her in the head.
During a press conference, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said it was
likely that the man was a deranged fan and that Christina did not know
him.
He said:
“That would be speculation, but that’s what it’s looking like.
“There’s no indication that he knew her, we’re looking into that to try and find a motive for the crime.”
He added that police were currently searching through the Loibl’s
phone and computer to find a possible motive for the murder. The police chief added:
“He came here to commit this crime and had plans to travel back to where he came from.”
However, after Christina’s brother tackled Loibl, the murderer turned
the gun on himself.
Post by Brian: https://t.co/s7ZbrEXgGH #RIPChristina pic.twitter.com/q9PwuawtoJ
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) June 11, 2016
Christina’s death was confirmed in a statement from her
representative, which read:
“It is with a heavy heart that we can confirm that Christina has passed and went home to be with the Lord.
She was shot at her show in Orlando and, unfortunately, didn’t survive the gunshot wounds. We ask at this time that you respect the privacy of her family and friends in their time of mourning.”
Christina – who appeared on season six of ‘The Voice USA’ – first found fame as a teenager for her renditions of hit songs, which led to her developing a huge following on YouTube.
She released her debut recording ‘Find Me’ in 2011, while the singer’s second EP – ‘Side A’ – was released earlier this year.
See our full coverage on how people have reacted to this tragic event here.