ORLANDO, Fla. — As people around the world prepare to mark the first anniversary of the June 12 Pulse nightclub shooting, Saturday marks one year since singer Christina Grimmie was shot and killed after a concert in Orlando.
There are no concerts scheduled at Plaza Live for this weekend. Instead the marquee will be blank with the simple message of “Remember Christina.”
Grimmie was fresh off a third-place finish on TV show "The Voice." She had two EPs and a studio album.
All that changed while on tour June 10, 2016, when she was shot by a crazed fan, who then killed himself.
A Plaza Live spokesperson told Channel 9's Field Sutton that employees still grieve for the young singer. They've been given the weekend off.
The venue had no official statement to release Friday.
A single mourner stopped at Plaza Live on Friday with a card and a flower. Tyler Lott said he was excited to see Grimmie last year when her career was taking off.
After a night of listening to her sing, the last thing he expected to hear was gunshots.
“Disbelief. Literally disbelief. Didn’t think, you know, she didn’t die, did she?” Lott said.
Grimmie’s death was almost lost in the shuffle when 49 people died at Pulse 24 hours later.
“It takes some effort to not forget, but we do the best we can,” Lott said.
Lott told Eyewitness News that is why he tries to think about the 22-year-old often.
“That’s been sort of intentional on my part because I know that we forget these things as time goes by, so I’ve tried to remember,” Lott said.
In celebration of a beautiful person @ChiefJohnMina wears green. We remember you #ChristinaGrimmie @TheRealGrimmie #TeamGrimmie pic.twitter.com/yuY4nh0o14
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 10, 2017
Cox Media Group