Tragedy struck on the night of June 10, 2016 after Christina Grimmie performed a show in Orlando, Florida. Following the concert at the Plaza Live Theater, a young man named Kevin Loibl walked up to her as she was signing autographs and opened fire on the singer. Grimmie’s brother, Marcus, immediately tackled Loibl to the ground, where he shot and killed himself.
Grimmie rose to fame during the sixth season of The Voice, where she was a contestant on Adam Levine’s team. She placed third, but made many appearances on the next few seasons whether it be social media correspondence, performing on the show, or just live tweeting an episode.
Before The Voice, she had quite the following on YouTube where she was posting covers, and her success on The Voice increased her fanbase exponentially.
Six months after her death, her family has decided to file a lawsuit against AEG Live and The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Plaza Foundation, which owns the Plaza Live venue where Grimmie was shot.
Grimmie’s parents, Albert and Tina, as well as her brother Marcus, are alleging wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress caused from Christina’s death, saying the venue didn’t take proper security measures to ensure the safety of everyone attending the concert.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday (Dec. 20), claims that “only ‘superficial bag checks’ were performed on attendees, rather than any body pat downs or the use of metal detectors that would have provided some safeguard against concertgoers bringing weapons into the theater. The man who killed Grimmie, Kevin Loibl, entered the venue with two 9mm Glock handguns, two full magazines and a large hunting knife, the suit states. Grimmie was shot three times before he was temporarily subdued by her brother Marcus and then took his own life.”
According the Billboard, the venue had previously implemented more serious security measures, but it did not do so for Grimmie’s concert. The suit also claims that the general manager for the venue, who had worked there for six years, had been fired just days before her concert. A new manager was working the night Grimmie was shot, with only one week of experience under their belt.
The suit details the milestones in Grimmie’s budding singing career, and the family’s undeniable support for her. The entire Grimmie family moved from Florida to Los Angeles to support her while she pursued her dream. Marcus also worked as her road and co-tour manager.
Billboard reports that, “Grimmie’s family requests a recovery the future support the singer would have provided to her family members, the singer’s projected income after taxes had she lived to normal life expectancy and any and all medical and funeral expenses paid. Grimmie’s parents, Albert and Tina, are also requesting damages for their mental pain and suffering from Grimmie’s death. Her brother, Marcus, is requesting compensation for the physical and emotional trauma Grimmie’s death caused, as well. ”
Grimmie’s Voice coach, Adam Levine, was also heartbroken after hearing about her passing. He knew how much she meant to her family, and offered to pay for funeral costs.
We can’t imagine the pain the Grimmies have been in the last six months and we will continue to pray for them.