EVESHAM, N.J. — Hundreds of friends, family and fans gathered Monday night for a candlelight vigil honoring homegrown singing star Christina Grimmie.
Township officials coordinated the vigil in Memorial Park for Grimmie, who first became a YouTube teen sensation by singing and playing keyboard renditions of songs by other artists. She later boosted her popularity after placing third in NBC's The Voice singing competition in 2014.
The popular singer was gunned down shortly after a performance in Orlando.
Her brother, Marcus Grimmie, credited with tackling the attacker, spoke to the crowd gathered Monday night while wearing a ''Team Grimmie" T-shirt.
Referring to the moment she was shot without using those words, her brother said, "she was arms wide open. She had no idea (what was happening.)"
"Christina was awesome," he said. "She loved this town, this state; she loved the Lord and she loved me."
Evesham Mayor Randy Brown called Marcus Grimmie a hero, prompting applause from the crowd.
Kathy Cortner, of the Bethel Baptist Church of Cherry Hill, said many did not know the depth of "this sweet, talented girl's Christianity.
"There are no words to explain what happened," Cortner said.
The crowd of about 500 people became hushed even before the vigil ceremony started. Mourners started arriving more than an hour before the vigil.
One of them, Grimmie's adopted aunt Hope Compton of Somerdale hugged friends in the softball field outfield. Compton said she flew to California to be with Grimmie's mother Tina, and flew back to New Jersey with her Monday afternoon.
"It doesn't seem real," Compton said, who broke down as she related getting the phone call that the singer had been shot. "But we'll see her again in heaven."
"We want to thank every single one of you for coming out tonight and helping Marc and the whole family go through what they're going through," Brown said. "Tonight is not just going to be a night where we talk about ... Christina's death but also celebrate her life.''
Brown urged the crowd to follow Grimmie's spirit.
"It's every parent's nightmare to bury a child. You can shed tears because she is gone or smile because she lived ... (so) do what she would want: Smile, open your eyes, love and live on."
On Monday, Maroon 5 star Adam Levine, her coach on The Voice, offered to pay for her funeral expenses, and a crowdfunding campaign has been started by her manager, Brian Teefey, to raise money for her funeral.
She maintained a fan following that stretched from the Delaware Valley to Hollywood.
Grimmie was raised in Marlton, but moved during high school to Southern California.
"I found out this morning that Adam Levine personally called my mother and said he will pay for the funeral and her plane flight (from Orlando back to California), and I was blown away,” Marcus Grimmie wrote on Facebook.
Along with Levine’s contribution, more than $125,000 had been pledged as of 10:45 p.m. ET Monday in a GoFundMe page set up for funeral donations.
Marcus Grimmie insisted donations were not necessary. Rather, he encouraged mourners to share memories of his sister in the comments — and to make one specific gesture in her honor.
“Please do not feel the need to donate anything at all. Please. Just leave a kind word, message or picture in the comments or message me and sign this change.org petition to help Christina possibly be remembered in the next 'Legend of Zelda' game, her favorite game of all time.”
"Words cannot express … literally I have no words. I promise both my parents and I will read every one of these personalized messages. I’m so blown away by everything right now. But all I can say is thank you. And Christina will be missed and never ever forgotten,” he wrote.
The gunman, Kevin James Loibl, walked up to Grimmie and shot her while she was signing autographs inside The Plaza venue immediately after her performance. Loibl then killed himself after Grimmie's brother tackled him.
The 22-year-old died within a few hours at an Orlando hospital, one day before another gunman killed 49 people and injured more than 50 others in a separate shooting attack inside a gay nightclub in the same city.
No motive has been determined in Grimmie's shooting although Orlando police said she likely did not know the gunman, whom they said came with handguns with the expressed intention of shooting her.
Marcus Grimmie also spoke briefly of those who died early Sunday just four miles away from the hotel where he was staying in Orlando.
"All those people who died ... and here we are with this outpouring for Christina for which we are grateful," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Tess Pschunder of Moorestown taught Grimmie in Sunday school when she was in third grade. ''She was always a sweet, little, happy girl.''
Follow Carol Comegno on Twitter: @CarolComegno
