New photos have surfaced showing Christina Grimmie‘s killer in the moments before shooting the late singer.
The deranged murderer, 27-year-old James Loibl, killed the former Voice contestant after a performance in Orlando, Florida back in June.
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Loibl was seen in the back of the crowd wearing a black hat, and standing with his arms crossed. Hidden on his person were two handguns and a hunting knife strapped around his ankle.
After the concert, Loibl stuck around at the venue for the meet and greet with the pop-rock singer. He had driven two hours from his parents’ home in St. Petersburg with the intention of killing Grimmie, according to Daily Mail.
When it was Loibl’s turn to meet Christina, he pulled out his gun and shot her. Immediately after firing the weapon, Christina’s brother, Mark Grimmie, tackled Loibl.
Mark was the guitarist in Christina’s band, and described that they never had any trouble with fans prior to this tragic incident.
“Christina never judged anyone, so it didn’t matter what someone looked like or if they acted weirdly, she just had this way with people. Everyone loved her and we literally never had a problem with any fan. Nothing,” he said.
Mark recalled thinking that Loibl stood out because he was much older than the teenage girl crowd that was in attendance at the concert. He spoke out about the horrifying moment when Loibl pulled out a gun, and fired it.
“I wasn’t afraid,” he said. “There wasn’t any time for fear. It was my first instinct to tackle him, so that’s what I did. I looked and she was on the floor and I just remember screaming bloody murder and jumping on him, then hitting him.”
“It was like a nightmare,” he said. “Everyone was gone. I’m the only one there and I’m sitting on the floor with two bodies.”
20-year-old Destiny Rivera was waiting in line behind Loibl to meet Christina and witnessed the terrifying ordeal as it unfolded.
“Christina was hanging out by the merchandise table, near the sound desk,” Rivera said. “She was talking to fans and taking pictures. I had made friends in line with some other fans and my group were talking to them. Two people were meeting Christina and there was one guy in front of us in line.”
“The one guy in front of us was walking up to meet her,” she said. “Her arms were open, waiting to greet him with a hug. Then there was a sound of three pops, like balloons…I saw the yellow barricade fall and the two people who had just met her started running away. I saw Christina’s leg fall to the side on the ground like a dead weight. I didn’t see her face. I saw her brother jump over the merchandise table and then it was just a blur. I turned and started running, then I heard another pop.”
As of now, the police haven’t discovered any motive other than that Loibl was a deranged fan with a sick obsession.
See the disturbing photos of Christina Grimmie’s killer here.
Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the Grimmie family.
[H/T Daily Mail]
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