Community Corner

Motive Still Unclear In Killing Of South Jersey's Christina Grimmie

A vigil for the music sensation is set for Monday night.

There will be a vigil Monday night in Evesham Township for former "The Voice" contestant Christina Grimmie, who was shot and killed over the weekend in Orlando.

Police have been unable to find a motive behind the Evesham Township native's shooting as of Monday morning. Nothing new emerged on Sunday, as Orlando Police dealt with the mass shooting that left 50 people dead at a gay nightclub Sunday morning.

The vigil will take place at the memorial complex, beginning at 8:45 p.m., Evesham Township Mayor Randy Brown said. The municipal complex is located at 984 Tuckerton Road in Marlton.

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Grimmie, 22, was from Evesham Township, and attended Marlton Middle School and Cherokee High School before she moved to Los Angeles in 2012.

Hundreds of people were expected to turn out for the vigil, and township officials had been calling local churches to collect as many candles as possible, according to the Courier Post.

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Grimmie was fatally shot by 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl, of St. Petersburg, Florida while she signed autographs after a show at Orlando's Plaza Live theater Friday night. She was pronounced dead early Saturday morning.

Adam Levine, the Maroon 5 star who coached Grimmie when she competed on "The Voice" in 2014, has offered to pay for her funeral, and for her mother's flight to the services, according to a Facebook post from Christina's brother, Marcus Grimmie.

"I found out this morning, that Adam Levine personally called my mother and said he will pay for the funeral and her plane flight, and I was blown away," Grimmie wrote.

On Monday, the "Support the Grimmie Family" gofundme page had raised about $170,000 for the family as of Monday afternoon.

Marcus Grimmie tackled Loibl, and was hailed as a hero by police for "preventing the further loss of life." No additional injuries were reported in the incident.

Police don't know how he was able to get into the nightclub. He was carrying two small caliber handguns, extra rounds of ammunition and a hunting knife.

About 120 people were in attendance at the concert, and there were "multiple witnesses" to the shooting, according to police.

Grimmie became a YouTube sensation for her renditions of popular songs and has more than 3 million followers.

Grimmie, originally of Voorhees, competed on "The Voice" in 2014.

Police believe Loibl was a deranged fan, and that he acted alone. They were checking his laptop and cell phone for any clues to a motive as of Saturday night.

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