Man Who Killed Christina Grimmie Identified As Kevin James Loibl, But Motive Still Unclear

  • by: Alan Duke
The man who fatally shot "Voice" star Christina Grimmie after a Friday night concert has been identified as 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl from St. Petersburg, Florida.
Here is the latest from police:
"Christina Grimmie inside the venue after the show - as she was having a meet and greet with fans - and opened fire. Christina Grimmie's brother, Marcus, tackled the suspect and shortly after that, the suspect shot and killed himself.
"Christina Grimmie died from the gunshot wounds she suffered. Her brother Marcus is a hero and possibly saved countless other lives. He is not injured. There were about 120 people in The Plaza Live at the time of the shooting.
"The suspect - who's identity we will release later today - is a 27 year-old white male. He does not live in Orlando. He was armed with two loaded handguns and had additional ammunition on his person, as well as a hunting knife. Detectives are looking at his phone and computer in hopes of identifying a motive."

Fans quickly responded to a GoFundMe page created by Grimmie's manager Brian Teefey to help her family pay for her funeral and burial. More than $20,000 had been raised in the first hour, although the goal was just $4,000.

"In Christina's honor I have created a Go Fund Me page to assist her family in their time of need. As family Mother, Father, and Brother made the ultimate family sacrifice to support Christina on her musical journey. They did nothing but love her and support her as family the best they knew how, the only worry I want them to have at this point is that of recovery."

The killer "was not from Orlando," Police Chief John Mina said. "He apparently traveled to Orlando to commit this crime and had plans to travel back to where he came from." He was from Florida, Mina said

Investigators are searching the shooter's cell phone and computer "to see if we can find a motive," Chief Mina said. There is no indication that Grimmer knew the man.

Here is the live Periscope stream of the Orlando Police briefing on the shooting of Christina Grimmie.

Grimmie, 22, was pronounced dead hours later at Orlando Regional Medical Center. The shooter was dead at the Plaza Live Theater, where Grimmie had just performed with the band Before You Exit.

Grimmie, who is from New Jersey, promoted the concert with a video on her Twitter account earlier Friday.

She became nationally known when she finished in third place on NBC's "The Voice" talent show's sixth season in 2014.

Grimmie first gained a following with YouTube videos.


  Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

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