Christina Grimmie has died after the singer, famous from her run on The Voice, was shot at an Orlando music venue on Friday night.
The shooting reportedly took place sometime after 10 p.m. Grimmie was the final artist to perform at the concert that included the band Before You Exit.
Orlando Weekly first reported early Saturday morning that the 22-year-old Grimmie died shortly after being brought to a nearby hospital.
“According to a Florida Hospital employee who prefers to remain anonymous, Grimmie passed away shortly after being brought into the ER,” the report claimed.
Grimmie’s death was confirmed by her publicist just after 2 a.m. ET.
“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 gun shot wounds. We ask at this time that you respect the privacy of her family and friends in their time of mourning. If you’d like to give back to Christina’s family in her memory, please consider donating to the families GoFundMe page in their time of need.”
After shooting Christina Grimmie, the suspect was reportedly tackled by the singer’s brother and then turned the gun on himself, taking his own life. The shooter has not yet been identified.
Christina Grimmie in critical condition after being shot after show at Plaza Live. Suspect shot and killed himself pic.twitter.com/3AZhxCenik
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016
There were initially some conflicting reports as to whether Christina Grimmie was dead. Orlando Weekly was the first outlet to report her death, while others listed The Voice singer in critical condition.
But a later report from a family friend seemed to confirm that Christina Grimmie was dead.
Grimmie had been performing at the Plaza Live Theater and was signing autographs when a man reportedly walked up to her and opened fire, Orlando Sgt. Wanda Miglio said in a news conference.
“This should have been something that was fun and exciting, and for something like this to happen is just a tragedy,” Miglio said (via USA Today ).
Miglio said the suspect had two guns, but no information was given about the weapons or the relationship between Christina Grimmie and the shooter.
Grimmie gained fame after appearing on the sixth season of The Voice , finishing in third place and later signing to the label Island Records. After word of the shooting began circulating, fans took to Twitter to pray for Grimmie.
Didn’t believe it at first but just saw its confirmed that @TheRealGrimmie was shot tonight while she performed in Orlando #PrayForChristina
— Kenny Hamilton (@KennyHamilton) June 11, 2016
We are heartbroken. @TheRealGrimmie is a loved member of our family. Our thoughts are with her and her family. #PrayForChristina
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) June 11, 2016
please take a moment to pray for Christina Grimmie. My heart is broken. I love her so much. pic.twitter.com/bidoNLIQTG
— Shane Dawson (@shanedawson) June 11, 2016
Many fans remembered Christina Grimmie from her days before The Voice , when she gained a following on YouTube for her covers and original songs.
Just three days before her death, Christina Grimmie had spoken to Pop Crush about her career including her latest EP, Side A . Grimmie said the music was inspired in part by some difficult times she had encountered in her life.
“Side A was a project that I wanted to do, stuff that I produced completely and it was just stuff that I was dealing with,” she said. “I haven’t had a lot of ‘hard times’ in my life until recently, so I wanted to write about those things and get them out for my fans and not even worry about genre and just make music.”
Grimmie added that her run to the final three on The Voice was a career-changing experience.
“The show itself, being on it I felt like I grew as a person — just that amount of pressure, no one is under that stress on the norm and it was so weird to be under that, but it was awesome. I would do it again, as nerve-racking as it was. Now, coming off the show, I have so much experience under my belt and so much to go back to — you know I don’t really get nervous for anything anymore, because I remember that feeling and I don’t think anything can top national TV and learning a song in less than a week!”
Grimmie went on to say that she had plans for a full-length album to be released later this year, the first time she had announced that publicly. She also discussed plans to go on tour before the end of the year to support the album. Grimmie said she dreamed of touring with Ariana Grande or One Director or even opening for Justin Bieber.
Though Christina Grimmie died in the shooting, police said the tragedy could have been worse and more people might have been hurt were it not for her brother’s heroic actions to tackle the shooter.
[Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images]